Several hundred juveniles cause chaos in Center City
Mayor Jim Kenney issued a statement vowing that this "dangerous behavior will not be tolerated."
Several hundred juveniles caused chaos in Center City around the area of the Fashion District mall Wednesday night, with some reportedly throwing rocks at police before they were finally dispersed, police said.
One officer suffered a non-life-threatening injury and several people were arrested, police said.
Mayor Jim Kenney posted a late-night statement on Twitter saying “a large group of mostly young people was being destructive and disruptive in Center City. This dangerous behavior will not be tolerated. We take public safety very seriously — I’m grateful to @PhillyPolice for responding, dispersing the crowd, and making necessary arrests.”
Just after 6:40 p.m., police responded to a large fight inside the Fashion District and were able to gradually move the crowd outside. Several hundred juveniles remained in the area along Market Street and some became confrontational with the police around 8:30 p.m., with some reportedly throwing rocks and climbing up a traffic light and on top of a police vehicle.
Officers were called from other parts of the city to assist and police were eventually able to move people west past City Hall. Many went down into the subway system and one person reportedly jumped down into the track area and walked south along the Broad Street Line from City Hall to the Walnut-Locust Station, where the person either exited or was detained, police said.
In the midst of the mayhem, one person allegedly possessing a gun was arrested near Ninth and Market Streets, but it was not immediately clear if that person was part of the crowd.
Many schools, including the Philadelphia School District, are on spring break this week.
“I’m saddened when young people engage in behavior that endangers themselves and others, especially because it is not representative of the majority of our city’s youth, who are positively engaged in their communities. We all must work together to support our young people,” Kenney continued on Twitter.