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Motive Unclear In Fatal Stabbing of Fruit Vendor In South Philadelphia

By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Homicide detectives are looking to the public for help in solving the brutal stabbing of a fruit vendor who was killed early this morning after he had finished loading up his cart outside his home in South Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Police Department homicide captain James Clark says 68-year-old Don Ly was about to get into his car outside his home in the 400 block of Vollmer Street just before 5am, just as he has done for the past ten years, en route to the area of 34th and Chestnut Streets in University City.

But Clark says that this morning, someone came up from behind him and brutally and fatally stabbed him several times in the neck and chest.

When police arrived he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead (see related story).

Clark says police are going over video that detectives recovered in the neighborhood.

"We retrieved video from several different locations in that immediate area, and we're hopeful we'll pick up the suspect running from the scene," Clark said today.

He says it's unclear what the motive was because Ly still had his wallet, money, and jewelry.  And he is asking anyone with any information to contact the police homicide division.

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