Officers were attacked and their cars damaged trying to disperse chaotic, illegal car meetups, Philly police said

Officers were attacked and their vehicles damaged while trying to break up multiple illegal car meetups throughout Philadelphia late Saturday into Sunday morning, police said, that caused chaos and mayhem and rattled the nerves of residents in nearby communities.

The wild scenes unfolded over the course of seven hours, with the first reported to police at 9:30 p.m. on Bustleton Avenue near Bleigh Avenue in Rhawnhurst. During that incident, 50 cars gathered at the scene, which drew multiple spectators. An arrest warrant was issued for one of the drivers, whom police did not identify, after they hit an uninvolved car while attempting to flee. Officers issued nuisance citations to nine other drivers and 15 spectators.

An officer responding to an assist call nearby was hurt after his vehicle was struck by a car fleeing that meetup, police said.

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In a statement, police officials said they had deployed dozens of officers to monitor the meetups this weekend, using personnel from the Central Intelligence Unit to track postings online about the gatherings.

“Unfortunately, law enforcement cannot prevent all of them, and even when we have the information, safely stopping the events in their tracks is not immediately feasible due to risks to officer and citizen safety,” officials said. “To those participating in this activity: do not think for a moment that you got away with it and that you will not be held accountable.”

Other meetups were reported in South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and Center City, according to police. At a 4 a.m. meetup at Island and Bartram Avenues, more than 200 cars were drifting — speeding and whipping the tail end of the vehicle around — and drag racing. Officers who responded were attacked and a vehicle was damaged, police said.

Other officers were attacked just after 4:30 a.m. at 15th and Market Streets, where more than 100 cars were reportedly drifting, and spectators were setting trash fires, police said. Multiple police vehicles were damaged, their windshields broken and tires flattened by spectators.

Police made two arrests at 20th Street and Pattison Avenue after a car fleeing an 11:47 p.m. meetup there crashed into a pole. Investigators did not identify them, but said they live near where the meet took place.

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, in whose district that meetup took place, said Sunday that events like it are a “matter of public safety that can have deadly consequences for unsuspecting drivers, pedestrians and neighborhood residents.”

“Philadelphia City Councilmembers will continue to work with the Police Department and Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration on solutions to this issue citywide,” Johnson said. “I also urge the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to prosecute anyone arrested in connection with this weekend’s illegal car meetups, including the injuring of police officers, to the fullest extent of the law.”

Car meetup culture has become a fixture of the city in the last few years, organized and advertised over social media. The unsanctioned, illegal gatherings block intersections and close streets, and have led to violence.

In June 2023, 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Jr. of Glen Mills was killed by Pennsylvania State Police troopers after he struck two troopers with his Audi S4 while trying to flee a car meetup that shut down I-95 near Penn’s Landing. Two other assaults during that meetup were captured by bystander video.

Later that year, on Oct. 1, Cody Heron, 27, brandished a gun and headbutted Nikki Bullock near Philadelphia City Hall as she was delivering for Uber Eats with her children in the car. Heron pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of an instrument of a crime. He was sentenced to one to four years in state prison and five years’ probation.

Prosecutors have said Heron, of Frankford, was part of an ATV and motorcycle meetup that illegally drove through Center City.

He took steps afterward to try and distance himself from the altercation, including deleting text messages about the incident and painting his motorcycle, according to investigators.

Police have scheduled a news conference for 2:15 p.m. Sunday to discuss the overnight incidents.

This is a developing story and will be updated.