Six teenagers are facing criminal charges following a series of seemingly unprovoked attacks last week in Center City, police said Monday.
The group – which includes boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 15 – turned themselves in late last week after detectives released surveillance video in an attempt to identify the suspects, PPD Inspector Raymond Evers told reporters.
Evers said all six kids attend Anthony Wayne Academy in Germantown, and they are being charged through the juvenile justice system with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy.
A girl, described as the leader of the group, surrendered to police Thursday, and the other five were taken into custody Friday, according to police. All arrived with their parents, Evers said.
What remains unclear, he added, is why the youths traveled from to Center City from school to allegedly attack at least four people at random within the span of about an hour Tuesday, Nov. 19. None of the teens had previously been arrested, according to the PPD.
The spree began at around 3:15 p.m., when members of the group punched a homeless man in the face at 15th and Chestnut streets, authorities said.
Five minutes later, they knocked a 24-year-old woman to the ground in front of a hotel on 17th Street and continued beating her, according to police. She was hospitalized with a concussion, and Evers said she was the most seriously injured of the victims.
Then, the teens approached and struck a 31-year-old man at around 3:45 p.m. in Logan Circle, and, about 25 minutes later, the group punched a 40-year-old woman outside the Target store near 20th and Callowhill streets, Evers said.
A seventh youth was with the others but did not participate in the assaults, according to Evers.
