Several Police Cars Damaged After Hundreds of Teens Gather in North Philadelphia
Trang Do, KWY-TV, July 1, 2019
Four police cars were damaged after hundreds of teens and young adults assembled in North Philadelphia Sunday night. The police department put out a citywide assist call for all available officers just before 11:30 p.m. for reports of a massive crowd of young people gathered near the intersection of N. Sydenham and W. Jefferson Streets.
“Anywhere from 800 to 1,000. There were a lot of young adults out here tonight,” said Chief Inspector Joel Dales.
Before officers arrived, neighbors described mayhem. Rachel Williams watched helplessly as a dozen teens climbed onto her car.
“Twelve kids were like dancing and twerking and going insane on top of my car, as well as just everywhere,” she said.
A man named Aaron who was there said it started out as a regular cookout right around 5 or 6 p.m., but that things escalated by nightfall when several people shared the location on Snapchat.
“They had a tent with a DJ popped up and everything like that. They had alcohol, jungle juice going up, {snip}.”
Police say members of the group damaged four patrol cars, bashing in hoods, busting windshields and breaking off side mirrors.
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{snip} A message went out on Instagram about a “free party,” which brought hundreds of young people to the area.
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Police did not make any arrests, though investigators are looking for surveillance video in hopes of identifying those responsible for vandalizing the patrol cars.
