Although two of his children, a 4-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy, were found safe inside his stolen minivan and back home, DoorDash driver Jeffrey Fang said "every minute was excruciating", referring to the carjacking Saturday night that separated him from his children for several hours.

On Feb 6 around 8:45 pm, Fang left his unlocked minivan to deliver food for a DoorDash client on Jackson Street in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Fang left the engine running as the children watched a movie in the back seat, ktvu.com reported.

In the meantime, two suspects dashed to the vehicle. A struggle ensued, and the suspects drove off with the children inside.

Shortly afterward, the San Francisco Police Department started a massive search with an Amber Alert issued to cell phones across the Bay Area. Information about the children with their photos went viral through various social media platforms.

Four hours later, the minivan was located in the city's Bayview district, and the children were safe inside.

The two suspects remain at large. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott issued a call for the suspects to turn themselves in.

"A happy closing to an unfortunate episode," was how Fang described the ordeal.

"The response from the community warms my heart; there's still humanity in all of us I guess."

A GoFundMe account has been set up for Fang's family. By Monday afternoon, more than 2,800 donors had raised over $117,000.

"We are incredibly relieved that the children are safe," DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in a statement Sunday. "As a father myself, I can only imagine how terrifying this incident must have been."

Meanwhile, the incident sparked heated debate around topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath, the high unemployment rate and parental responsibility.

A first-generation immigrant from China, Fang is married with three children, the eldest age 6. Like many San Franciscans, Fang works in the gig economy by driving for ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber. As the pandemic hit, he chose to supplement his earnings by delivering food for DoorDash.

Some accused Fang and his wife of being "careless and irresponsible" by taking children to work at night and leaving them in an unlocked vehicle.

For example, Twitter user Joel Abella said: "Why on earth is this man bringing his kids delivering stuff? Doesn't he know that his kids are in mortal danger if he gets involved in an accident!? Some people just lack the proper common sense nature gave them and it's really astounding."

Although Fang remained silent about why he took his children with him Saturday night, many defended him by citing the gloomy economy and record-high jobless rate in the United States.

"We are in the middle of a pandemic," said Chris Han, an Uber driver. "People are trying to survive and can't afford babysitters or nannies. Don't point fingers."

Iris Lei, a Bay Area resident with three children, said she has to work two jobs. "I'm sure if the parent had a choice to not bring their kids along while they are working, they wouldn't. Fang like most Americans these days, was trying to support his family while raising kids."

According to the US Labor Department, the national unemployment rate in January was 6.3 percent, with 10.1 million people losing jobs, both figures representing a twofold increase compared with the same period last year.