PHILADELPHIA – A 33-year-old man faces murder and rape charges following a terrifying six-minute ordeal inside a Northwest Philadelphia beauty salon that left a mother of two dead and two other women injured.
Jamal Pistoria was taken into custody aboard a transit bus following an intensive dayslong manhunt, the Philadelphia Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office announced. He is formally charged with murder, rape, aggravated assault, sexual assault and firearms violations.
Terror inside the salon
What we know:
The attack happened shortly after 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Abba Blessed Beauty Salon on the 6300 block of Stenton Avenue, near East Washington Lane.
Investigators said Pistoria walked into the salon armed with a handgun and forced a worker at the front counter into a rear room where three other women were located. After locking the door behind them, Pistoria physically and sexually assaulted three women, pistol-whipping them and demanding money.
During the assault, Pistoria fatally shot 34-year-old employee Bellaniri Ofelia Hernandez Camilo. Prosecutors noted that Hernandez Camilo had not fought back or engaged him before he fired multiple rounds into her.
How the victims fought back
The backstory:
With their coworker critically wounded beside them, the two surviving women realized the gunman’s weapon had run out of bullets or stopped firing.
The two women, ages 33 and 44, fought back and overpowered the suspect. Pistoria broke free and ran out the door, grabbing the cash register till and taking a small amount of cash on his way out.
The three victims were rushed to Jefferson Einstein Hospital, where Hernandez Camilo died from her injuries. The salon’s owner suffered severe injuries to her arm and required surgery.
The tip that ended the manhunt
What they’re saying:
After the attack, detectives pulled security footage from nearby businesses. Investigators said surveillance cameras captured Pistoria buying a soda at a neighborhood convenience store with his face uncovered, allowing witnesses to identify him.
The District Attorney’s Office named Pistoria as a wanted suspect and issued a $20,000 reward, warning the public that he was armed and dangerous.
The search ended around 1 a.m. on Nov. 6 after a rider spotted Pistoria boarding a SEPTA bus at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue and dialed 911. The caller stayed on the line with dispatchers, providing the bus number and real-time location. Officers from the 22nd District boarded the bus on the 500 block of South Broad Street and took Pistoria into custody without incident.
Remembering the victim
Big picture view:
Hernandez Camilo was a stylist in training, a wife and a mother of two children, ages 8 and 12. Her family said she and her husband moved to Philadelphia from Chile in 2022 to build a better life and save money to build a family home.
Police said there is no indication Pistoria knew anyone inside the salon before walking through the door. A motive remains under investigation.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not released details on what led up to the attack or whether the victims knew the suspect beforehand. The Philadelphia Police Department’s Homicide Unit said the motive remains unknown as the investigation continues.
The Source: This article was written using preliminary information provided by the Philadelphia Police Department.
