Last Updated on January 24, 2023
Shortly after the Philadelphia Eagles picked up a blowout win over the New York Giants to advance just one game from the Super Bowl, defensive-back CJ Johnson-Gardner revealed that he was the victim of a crime. The Eagles player revealed via Instagram Live on Tuesday that his car had been stolen in Philadelphia just moments before going live.
The 25-year-old stated that he knows ” “exactly who stole my sh**” and that he captured the alleged thief on video. “Don’t worry about it, we got ya’ll on camera,” Gardner, 25, said. Wow, wow. That’s how ya’ll gettin down? In Philly? Ya’ll steal [my] sh** after a win?”
CJ Gardner-Johnson had his car stolen today in Philly, per his IG Live: “I know exactly who stole my sh**, don’t worry we got y’all on camera. That’s how y’all get down in Philly.. after a win?”pic.twitter.com/2gnNYgwTCr
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) January 23, 2023
Eagles Nation, a popular fan page and blog, reported that the vehicle stolen was a KIA. The vehicle model has been a target of thefts in recent weeks due to a TikTok video that showed how the vehicles can be broken into and hacked.
Philadelphia set a record for carjackings in 2022 with over 1,300 reported instances. Violent and property crime has been on the rise across the city since 2018, though most statistics accelerated in 2020.
In 2019, the City of Philadelphia recorded 224 carjackings on the year. That figure jumped to 409 in 2020, then further accelerated to 847 in 2022. That number only continued to rise in 2022, as over 1,300 instances had been reported as of mid-December.
2/ Majority Method of Carjackings in Philadelphia, at gunpoint, 834.
Another 112 attempted carjackings with guns. 2nd leading method was by force, 106. 3rd: 85 Assaulted driver, 85. Attempted carjackings no gun shown 59. “Unknown Object” used in 26 carjackings. @FOX29philly— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) December 15, 2022
While Gardner-Johnson hopes that his car will be recovered, his mind will no doubt be primarily on his team’s upcoming NFC Championship game with the San Francisco Giants. With a win at home, the Eagles will advance to their second Super Bowl in five years.