A Philadelphia gas station owner has hired a security team armed with AR-15s and shotguns and decked out in Kevlar vests as they battle to combat the city’s ongoing crime crisis.
Neil Patel, who oversees a Karco gas station in North Philadelphia, said he hired S.I.T.E. agents to protect their employees and customers after several recent incidents where their store was ransacked.
Patel told a local Fox outlet that criminals “are forcing us to take on security, high-level security, state level.”
We are tired of this nonsense; robbery, drug trafficking, loitering, gangs,” he added.
The small business owner said he was recently forced to take over the security team after a group of young men vandalized his business and robbed his A.T.M. He said his car had also been damaged by local criminals.
A North Philly owner says he’s had enough violent crime at his gas station so he’s hired these guys to protect his customers and store.
— Jason Martinez (@JasonFox29) December 6, 2022
Does this make you feel safer? Or uncomfortable. pic.twitter.com/ZOXvUxTvyW
Patel shared photos and videos of a looted store, hooded criminals taking A.T.M.s out of the store, and his car with ripped tires and a smashed window.
Most local residents and neighbors of Patel and his station said they supported Patel’s decision to have visibly armed security personnel.
Local resident Korrie Barry said she “supported the owner” and his decision to hire the security team, adding that she sympathized with people who “live in a bad area” and are just trying to “gas up” without dealing with the criminal danger.
One resident spoke out against Patel’s decision and said he didn’t like the idea of children being taken in by large, heavily armed guards.
Patel said he understands the concern, but the response is motivated by criminals who are also armed.
“I listen to them, but… the violent ones bring their own weapons,” he said. “I fear for the safety of my employees” and that of his customers.
Pennsylvania SITE State Troopers can be hired as private armed security for events and companies.
S.I.T.E. chief Andre Boyer said the team wears Kevlar and “is trained.”
“My guards train every couple of weeks, they’re proficient with [weapons] and their Taser. They know the law,” he said.
“We have the right to protect this property by any means necessary and with any force necessary to protect it,” he added of Patel’s business.
Despite what may have seemed like a drastic measure in the past, Patel says his business hasn’t had run-ins with offenders since he beefed up his security presence.
Violent crime as a whole is up 3% year-to-date in Philadelphia. Overall, crime is up 23% from this time last year.
Thefts have soared 36.7% in the past year as the city’s liberal leadership grapples with a crime crisis. Earlier this year, Philadelphia police appealed to the city’s mayor, saying he “can’t keep up” with the rapidly rising homicide rate, and on Monday, the mayor signed an ordinance that will ban citizens from carrying weapons in public places such as parks and schools.
The lawlessness crisis in Philadelphia has gotten so bad that the city’s district attorney, progressive Larry Krasner, is currently facing impeachment.
