As a lifelong resident of the City of Brotherly Love, witnessing the current crime wave is scary. In South Philadelphia, born and raised, FDR Park is where I spent many of my days. It is also where a congresswoman was the victim of a crime on Wednesday afternoon.
Mary Gay Scanlon, the Democratic congresswoman representing Pennsylvania’s 5th District, was carjacked at gunpoint Wednesday afternoon in FDR Park (known locally as “The Lakes”), WPVI reported. The park is located across the street from the Philadelphia Eagles practice facility.
Scanlon was an avid “defund the police” politician and co-sponsor of a bill to dispatch mental health professionals instead of police officers to some crime scenes. I wonder who she called after the carjacking — a mental health professional or a police officer.
Scanlon’s office released the following statement after the incident:
“Wednesday afternoon, at around 2:45 p.m., Congresswoman Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint in FDR Park following a meeting at that location. The Congresswoman was physically unharmed. She thanks the Philadelphia Police Department for their swift response, and appreciates the efforts of both the Sergeant at Arms in D.C. and her local police department for coordinating with Philly PD to ensure her continued safety.”
Incidentally, another carjacking occurred earlier in the day, about a mile from where Scanlon was carjacked — and about a five-minute walk from where I am writing this story. This is the new normal for Philadelphians and many people in big cities throughout the country. Attacks on police funding, vilifying the police in media, and agenda-driven district attorneys that favor protecting criminals over the innocent, have emboldened criminals and left the country in shambles.
Philadelphia has already set a new record for homicides in 2021, and there is still over a week remaining in the year. The city has the highest violent crime and murder rates of the 10 cities with a population greater than one million residents. The city’s violent crime rate is over twice the national average. In many instances, the murderers have previous arrests but were released due to the decisions by the city’s district attorney.
It is bad enough that innocent people were being preyed on throughout the country. But if we are at the point where sitting congresswomen are being victimized at gunpoint, what does that mean for the little people who aren’t politicians? Something has to change. Politicians need to let police departments do their jobs and focus on protecting the innocent instead of the criminal.
