U.S. Rep. Scanlon's Stolen Car Found, Five Suspects in Custody

The car stolen at gunpoint in Philadelphia from U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon was found in neighboring Delaware with five suspects inside,. They were in police custody Thursday, the Associated Press reports. Scanlon’s blue Acura MDX was located Wednesday night in Newark, De., about 45 miles from Philadelphia. The suspects were being processed. Scanlon, a Democrat, was walking to her parked vehicle after a meeting in the city’s FDR Park shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday when two armed men demanded her keys. She handed them over, and one drove off in the car while the other followed in a dark sport utility vehicle. Scanlon was unharmed.

Several personal and work items were taken with the vehicle. Scanlon, whose district includes portions of south Philadelphia and neighboring Delaware County, was among officials meeting to discuss constituent concerns around ongoing development plans for the park. Scanlon’s office said she expressed gratitude to city police for their quick response and to her local police department and the Sergeant at Arms in Washington, D.C., for working with Philadelphia police “to ensure her continued safety.” “Everyone deserves to feel safe in our city, and sadly that hasn’t always been the case this year,” Mayor Jim Kenney said. “It’s disheartening and infuriating that criminals feel emboldened to commit such a reckless crime in the middle of the day in what should be a place of peace—one of our city’s parks.”