A neighbor, Zack, who lives in the Belgium Apartments near 44th and Chestnut Streets, reported a break-in incident at his home Wednesday night and wanted to alert other neighbors to always lock their windows. The intruder, a male in his late 30’s to mid 40’s, broke into Zack’s first floor apartment through an open bedroom window. The incident happened around 11:35 p.m. and he called the police who responded within two minutes.

Zack says that he was watching a movie in the living room when the intruder broke into his apartment. When he noticed the man he locked the front door and told him to empty his pockets and asked him why he was in his house. While Zack was talking to a 911 operator, the man got away through the window he came in through. Zack says that he was also grabbing his machete when the intruder, who was armed with a razor blade, got away.

Luckily nothing was stolen; the intruder just made a mess, Zack said.

“My bedroom window is in an alleyway, and it was open, but he tore the screen off to get in. I’m always so adamant about my windows being locked and it was very weird and eye-opening for this to happen while I was relaxing at home.”

The intruder is described as an African American male, about 5’7″ or 5’8″, about 140/150 pounds, with a partial black eye around the outside of his left eye.

UPDATE (8/28): The thief stole the cash register from Rx and the total stolen value is $200, according to police. The investigation continues.

Unfortunately, there was a break-in at another neighborhood restaurant. Someone smashed the front door at Rx The Farmacy at 45th and Spruce, a day after Pho & Cafe Saigon was similarly burglarized two blocks away.

Police were called to Rx restaurant just after 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning and found the glass front door smashed. When we went to the scene this morning, at around 8 a.m., the door was already boarded up (see photo below). It is unknown at this time if anything was taken from the restaurant. Please stay tuned for updates.

UPDATE (7:50 p.m.): Police confirmed the break-in at Pho & Cafe Saigon and said that the incident has been classified as a burglary. The suspect or suspects took $50 from the register, police said. They broke out the side window with a brick.

Earlier: We have received a report of an apparent break-in at Pho & Cafe Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant at 43rd and Spruce Streets, Monday morning. A neighbor, Helen, reports that someone tried to use a brick to smash the front door of the restaurant and another neighbor reportedly heard car crashing noises some time between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. The photos below show the restaurant door damaged and one of the windows smashed open. Helen says that she called the police at 8:30 a.m. We are trying to get more details.

Photos by Helen Hong.

Screen capture from surveillance video.

Police have released surveillance video of an apparent hit and run accident on 48th Street between Osage and Pine early Sunday morning and that left an unidentified 23-year-old woman critically injured. The video shows a taxicab with a large ad display on top and a dark stripe down the side, going very fast and dragging the victim along 48th Street shortly before 3 a.m. on Sunday. The cab fled the scene.

The victim was found lying face down and unconscious on the street with apparent head trauma. Police reported yesterday that the victim had a brain injury and was in “very critical” condition. If you have any information about the incident please call 686-TIPS or email: tips@phillypolice.com.

UPDATE (5:40 p.m.): Police report that the woman has a brain injury and is in “very critical” condition. She is 23 years old, according to CBS Philly. Police are still searching for the car that hit the woman and fled.

Earlier: Police are looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run accident that left a woman face down and unconscious in the middle of 48th Street between Pine and Osage early Sunday morning.

A neighbor who lives near the scene says that she woke early this morning, around 2:30 a.m., to people screaming outside her window and saw a woman lying in the middle of the street. The neighbor said the woman looked unresponsive and it looked like she had head trauma.

“It looked like she either had on flats or no shoes at all and only a cell phone (no purse, etc.),” the neighbor wrote by e-mail this morning.

“I heard a very loud and constantly pacing man saying that he just found her like that and almost drove over her,” she wrote. “He stayed until the last cop left the scene.”

Police tweeted that the woman was in critical condition and that they are looking for witnesses. If you saw something call 686-TIPS or write tips@phillypolice.com.

UPDATE (Fri, Aug 23, 3:50 p.m.): Police said that one person shot and wounded three people last night in Kingsessing, near S. Saint Bernard and Greenway. All three victims are in critical but stable condition. All three are young men, in their early 20’s. The shooting was a result of a fight over a comment made to a woman, according to police. The shooting was in retaliation for the comment and was not drug-related as it was reported earlier. The investigation continues.

Earlier: At least two men were shot Thursday night in the Kingsessing area, police confirmed. West Philly Local readers reported gunfire near S. Saint Bernard and Greenway shortly after 7 p.m. Both men are reportedly wounded. A police source said that the shootings may have been drug-related.