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Driver Charged After SUV Rams Philadelphia Police Station, Injuring 5

The case advances to prosecution with motive still under review by local and federal investigators.

Overview

  • The Hyundai SUV crashed through the glass doors of the 2nd District lobby in Rhawnhurst on Tuesday around 1:40 p.m., leaving five people with minor injuries.
  • Police identified the driver as 26-year-old Dieufort Joly of Rhawnhurst, who was tackled and arrested after he exited the vehicle.
  • Less than a day later, prosecutors filed five counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment, plus counts for risking a catastrophe, institutional vandalism, and possessing an instrument of crime.
  • Commissioner Kevin Bethel called it a deliberate act, officers found no weapons in the SUV, and federal partners are helping assess whether the conduct meets a terrorism threshold.
  • Surveillance video from inside the lobby and a nearby business shows the SUV turning toward the station before plowing through the doors, and police say they had earlier responded to a domestic dispute involving Joly and his father.