Suspect steals car with boy sleeping inside in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA -- Police in Northeast Philadelphia say a 6-year-old boy has been found safe, after a suspect stole a car as the boy slept in the back seat.

It happened before 2 a.m. Tuesday at the 7-Eleven store at Large Street and Oxford Avenue.

According to police, the boy's 30-year-old stepfather stopped at the store and left the car running as he went inside.

He left the boy sleeping in the back seat.

Action News was there as a 6-year-old boy was reunited with his parents after the car he was sleeping in was stolen outside a 7-Eleven store in Northeast Philadelphia.

That's when the suspect slipped into the front seat and took off towards Roosevelt Boulevard.

The police were notified and a search began.

Police were concerned because the youngster, who suffers from asthma, did not have his inhaler.

Officers found the vehicle 30 minutes later in the 4300 block of Leiper Street. The suspect had apparently ditched the car and fled.

Police say the boy slept through the entire ordeal.

The car was still running with the heat on, which kept the youngster warm. The boy found safe and unharmed.

Officers took the boy back to the 7-Eleven.

Action News was there as they carried him into the store and reunited him with his parents.

The car was being checked for fingerprints and swabbed for DNA.

Investigators are going over surveillance video for a description of the suspect.

Police say he will be charged with auto theft and kidnapping once he's captured.