Philadelphia police are investigating a robbery and sexual assault at a North Philadelphia business after officers were called early Saturday morning to a property on the 400 block of North 9th Street.
Police said up to five male suspects forced their way into a building, robbed people inside and sexually assaulted victims at gunpoint. One suspect, 18-year-old Saidakhmad Bakiev, was taken into custody and charged with rape, burglary, robbery, false imprisonment and sexual assault.
Several of the suspects got away by using the roof as police arrived, and investigators are still searching for at least five other men. The victims’ condition was not provided.
The information released so far came from the Philadelphia Police Department, which said the case remains active. Investigators described the other suspects as white males in their late teens to early 20s with dark hair, and said they believe they may be of Russian or Central Asian descent.
That leaves a serious gap in the case: one arrest is in hand, but police are still asking how many people were inside, who else was involved and where the others went after fleeing over the roof. For readers following Philadelphia crime and court developments, the next step is whether investigators can identify and arrest the remaining suspects before they disappear farther from North 9th Street.
