Philadelphia Police have arrested an East Germantown man for one of three gun-related crimes in Chestnut Hill in recent weeks. Jahid J. Brady, 23, was apprehended by police after being shot by a 21-year-old pizza delivery driver he allegedly tried to carjack on the 7700 block of Stenton Avenue, late on the night of July 18. 

A second suspect involved in the attempted carjacking, who escaped on foot and ran across Stenton Avenue into Springfield Township, is still at large, police said. 

The carjacking came on the heels of two kidnappings earlier this month on July 1 and July 13, in which each victim was forced into a car at gunpoint. The kidnappings are being investigated by the city’s Special Victims Unit, and according to police spokesperson Officer Miguel Torres, there is no evidence to suggest that the carjacking is related. 

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small described the carjacking incident as a “shootout” in a statement to reporters.

“It appears that this was a robbery carjacking and our deliveryman, the victim of the robbery, was able to pull his weapon and was in a shootout with one of the perpetrators,” Small said.

Brady also has been charged with robbery, conspiracy, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and other related offenses. The delivery driver was employed by Queen B Pizza in Mt. Airy.

Chestnut Hill’s two reported kidnappings in July are two of a total of 66 kidnappings in the city so far this year, according to data provided by the Philadelphia Police Department. 

Of those, more than half occurred in neighborhoods with high rates of drug-related crime, including Kensington, North Philadelphia, Fairhill, Hunting Park and Strawberry Mansion.

Police, however, said that these crimes, which qualify as kidnappings because victims were forced into vehicles, driven to different ATM locations and made to withdraw money, are not always drug-related. 

“While a select few may have a drug nexus, most of these incidents are a crime of opportunity,” police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly said. “Normally, with these incidents, the person who’s doing the robbery and kidnapping is aware, or has some reason to believe, that the victim has money.”

That’s not much comfort for Hill residents like Mark Ziegler, a State Farm Insurance agent whose business is located near the site of the July 13 kidnapping by the corner of Bethlehem Pike and Chestnut Hill Avenue. Ziegler said he is “shocked” by the recent string of crimes. 

“You never really expect it, and it makes you think about being mindful of your own safety,” he said. “I already felt that police presence in the neighborhood was good. I don’t know what else they can do.”