Democratic congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia. It was suspected that a group of 5 men had carjacked the congresswoman.
According to the authorities, a 19-years-old teenager hailing from Wilmington was taken into custody and was charged at the federal court “for participating in gunpoint carjacking of U.S. Rep Mary Gay Scanlon in FDR park.”
The 19-years-old Josiah Brown has pleaded not guilty against the charges of firearms violations and carjacking. He will be taken into custody as the case moves further and other suspects are also arrested.
According to the federal authorities “Brown, along with a still-unidentified coconspirator, pointed a gun at Scanlon’s chest in the park around 2:30 p.m. and demanded her car keys. Scanlon handed over her belongings and was not physically harmed, they said, while Brown and his accomplice drove off in her 2017 Acura MDX.”
The SUV of the congresswoman had a tracking device installed in it. According to the documents filed the tracking device allowed the police to detect the vehicle and locate its place within the next few hours.
The SUV was detected outside the house of Josiah Brown in Wilmington and later on at Christiana Fashion Center in Newark, Delaware.
4 other teens were also taken into custody along with Brown approximately around 8:30 pm.
The teens tried to flee from the location as they saw police approaching towards them and the SUV of the congresswoman but they were eventually arrested after a little chase.
Josiah Brown will be facing charges connected to the carjacking.
Philadelphia police held a press conference on Thursday after the unfortunate incident. The police highlighted the growing cases of carjacking and the dangers instilled with it.
US Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams who will be prosecuting Brown stated that “the crime had national security implications due to Scanlon’s standing as an elected official. If you pick up a gun and use it to commit a crime, together we will come after you,” Williams said at an afternoon briefing. “And we are very good at what we do.”
The congresswoman had earlier stated that the whole episode was very frightening especially when the gunmen were so young.
“I was scared that someone would do something even more stupid than trying to steal a car,” Scanlon said.
