'Cops don't do anything': Philadelphia gas station hires AR-15-armed security after 'violent' robberies
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: In order to defend his business from the city's escalating crime, a gas station owner in Philadelphia recently employed security guards who were outfitted in Kevlar and armed with AR-15s or shotguns.
According to local Fox affiliate Fox 29, Neil Patel, who owns a Karco gas station at Broad and Clearfield Streets in North Philadelphia, claimed he hired Pennsylvania SITE state officers to protect his staff and customers after his store had been frequently robbed.
"They are forcing us to hire the security, high-level security, state level," Patel told FOX 29 of his decision to buy the services of Pennsylvania SITE State Agents. "We are tired of this nonsense: robbery, drug trafficking, hanging around, gangs."
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Patel, who purportedly owns 22 petrol stations nearby, stated that one of his establishments had been burglarized, an ATM had been taken away, and his car had been vandalized. Easter Sunday also witnessed a shooting at one of Patel's gas stations, according to WPVI.
Patel remarked, "Cops here, they don't do anything", adding he hired private security guards who were outfitted in Kevlar jackets and carried semi-automatic weapons or shotguns as he felt he needed "high-level security."
According to Fox 29, Andre Boyer, a security agent who goes by the title 'Chief', said, "We wear Kevlar, we are trained, my guards go to training every other week, they're proficient with [their guns] and with their Taser, they know the law."
Despite the fact that Patel has witnessed a significant drop in crime and loitering since putting his new security team in place, several local residents have expressed reservations about having armed men on patrol. Patel said, "I listen to them, but according to some people, violent people, they carry the guns, they're not afraid of them? This is the protection for the neighborhood and the customers," as per reports.
According to Philadelphia-based attorney David Thiruselvam, regardless of the optics, company owners have a duty to protect their clients. The police department in Philadelphia is still understaffed. The Philadelphia Police Department reported that 478 homicides had taken place so far this year. In the city, there is a 1 in 34 chance that you will become a victim of property crime, as per reports.