Picking up a fare turned deadly for a taxi driver early this morning after the man he picked up opened fire.
The cabbie stopped near the Walnut Park Plaza apartments at 63rd and Walnut Streets in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia around 12:35 a.m. Wednesday.
The man who flagged him down approached the All City cab, pulled a handgun and demanded money, according to Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker.
"The person who flags him down walks around the car, tries to get in the passenger side of the vehicle and then he points a gun into the passenger side window and we believe he announces a robbery," Walker said.
The cabbie tried to drive off before the man got in but the man opened fire, hitting the driver five times in the chest, arm and side. The taxi then crashed into a nearby abandoned building.
When police arrived they found the driver -- identified by family and friends as Hafiz Salman Sarfraz of Upper Darby, Pa. -- slumped over in the front seat. Sarfraz, 33, was announced dead a short time later at the hospital.
The suspect fled the scene.
Cab drivers tell NBC10 that they often are put in a tough spot when picking people up especially during off hours.
"We cannot refuse anyone, if we refuse anyone we receive a citation from the PPA," said Rashid Sheikh, a friend of the victim. "What kind of protection do we have? Anybody who decides that today they want to go rob a cab driver or I wanna go kill a cab driver, they have no problem whatsoever."
Anyone with information should call 911 or contact Philadelphia Police.
Photo Credit: Family Photo
