It began with an argument over a fare at the Frankford terminal last Saturday afternoon. It ended when one cab driver shot another cabbie three times about a half-hour later.
Police have identified the wounded driver as the aggressor in the altercation because he allegedly brandished a knife in the first place. He was hospitalized and may face criminal charges. His identity has not been released.
According to an official police narrative, the episode began at about 1:15 p.m. on the 5200 block of Frankford Ave. where both drivers had parked their cabs while waiting for customers. They argued over who was next in line.
When a woman passenger entered one of the cabs, that driver got into the vehicle and waved a large knife at the other cabbie before driving from the scene. When that cabbie returned to the Frankford terminal at about 1:45 p.m., he allegedly walked up to the other driver and punched him in the face. The alleged attacker was holding a plastic bag at the time and said nothing before throwing the punch, police said. A third cabbie witnessed the alleged assault.
In response, the victimized cab driver pulled out a gun and shot the attacker twice in the torso and once in the left side of the head. The head wound was a grazing shot. The gunman had a license to carry and employed the weapon because he believed the attacker still had the knife that he had brandished 30 minutes earlier. Police responded to the scene and took the wounded man to Aria-Jefferson Health’s Torresdale campus. Police did not disclose his condition or whether he was charged criminally. But in an official report, police described the wounded man as the “offender” and the shooter as the “victim.”
Initially, Philadelphia police reported that SEPTA officers arrested the shooter and took him to Northeast Detectives for questioning. He was not charged criminally at that time. ••
