Police say the father ran into the Rite Aid pharmacy at the corner of East Tremont and Lafayette Avenues Saturday afternoon, leaving this minivan running, with the kids inside.
When he came back out, the vehicle and his children were gone.
"It's terrible to even leave the kids in the car for even a second, it happens in a blink of an eye," eyewitness Victoria Rendon said.
"It was horrible. It was very horrible to see," eyewitness Myrna Fournier said.
As the father searched for his children in a panic, a few blocks away the carjacker apparently realized the kids were in the back seat, hit the brakes and ran off.
As police tried to track him down, searching through neighboring yards in Throgs Neck with no success, the children and father caught their breath in the back of a patrol car.
"I know the kids must have been nervous because they looked really really scared. I'm glad the kids are OK, thank God for that," one witness said.
Police are still searching for the suspect.
So far investigators have not released a description.
Meanwhile, the children are said to be just fine and police are questioning the father trying to piece more of this story together.
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