Former Philadelphia official carjacked by masked gunman outside of longtime home
PHILADELPHIA - A former Philadelphia city leader is the latest victim of rampant vehicle thefts across the city after he was carjacked at gunpoint outside his Northeast Philadelphia home.
Alan Butkovitz, 70, told FOX 29's Jeff Cole that he was sitting in his car around 8 p.m. Tuesday when a masked man armed with a gun banged on his window and ordered him to get out.
"He's like ‘get the (expletive) out, get the (expletive) out, or I’ll kill you right here, I'll kill you right now!'," Butkovitz recalled "I opened the door and I didn't know if her wanted money and he was like, ‘give me the keys'."
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Alan Butkovitz, a former Philadelphia Controller and one-time mayoral candidate, handed over the keys to his 2012 Ford Fusion and laid facedown on the street. Fearful for his life, Butkovitz was relieved to hear his the carjacker slam the door and drive off.
"I’m alive, I’m going to live, it took me a few hours after this incident to appreciate the fact – ‘oh, it’s okay now, I am alive’," Butkovitz said.
While no arrests have been reported by police, the entre carjacking was captured by a neighbor's surveillance camera. It shows two men approach Butovitz's vehicle parked outside his home of 40 years, and a black Infinity that was later towed by police.
In January, FOX 29's Kelly Rule reported there were over 1,200 vehicles stolen in Philadelphia over the first three weeks of the new year. That number closely follows a record year for car thefts in Philadelphia.