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Children as young as 10 were part of mob of juveniles that ransacked Wawa store in Philapdelphia

The city is reportedly seeing a huge spike in robberies, said to be up by 40% with 4,199 cases as compared to 3,042 cases in 2021

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Amid rising cases of robberies in Philadelphia, a Wawa store was ransacked by a mob of nearly 100 people on Saturday, September 24. Footage from inside the store was released by the police on Tuesday, September 27, which reveals that children as young as 10 were part of the mob, raising concerns about the turbulent criminal activities in the 'City of Brotherly Love'.

Philadelphia cops are now on the hunt for the individuals who ransacked and trashed the store, hurled items at the employees, threw things around, and even jumped on the cars parked outside. The crowd wreaked havoc at the Wawa on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia's Mayfair neighborhood, reports the Daily Mail.  

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Police believe that the crowd seems to have assembled as a flash mob that had been planned and orchestrated via social media. Having released footage of the robbery, authorities have urged the public to come forward with any information regarding the individuals, who appear to be mostly juveniles. First Deputy Police Commissioner John Stanford said at a news conference on Monday, September 26, "The bottom line is: we cannot have this type of behavior happening in this city. The business community doesn't deserve that, the citizens don't deserve it."

Once caught, the individuals who participated in the chaos could be charged with criminal mischief, vandalism, theft, and felony riot. "It was approximately 50 to 100 people," said Philadelphia Police Captain John J Ryan, as per reports from CBS News, adding, "The Wawa was completely sacked by the kids coming inside and destroying things, and thankfully there were no injuries to the Wawa, personnel, or to responding police."

The footage from inside the store shows the people stealing and vandalizing the place. The outlet also reported that an employee of the next-door Rolling Thunder Skating Center revealed that the mob had come to Wawa from the skating center. "After they roller skated, they started fighting inside the Rolling Thunder, after they went inside Rolling Thunder, they started fighting and going crazy in Wawa and throwing chips," said Latif Kasey, an employee of the center. 

More footage, recorded via cellphone, showed the mob jumping around, trashing the place. "You're all stupid. You're all ugly, stupid, broke," one person behind the counter could be heard saying. 

The looting at the Wawa store comes after Philadelphia police had provided extra security merely ten miles away after a similar group of young teenagers stormed several Wawa and other stores in Center City. Some of these delinquents had been taken into custody. Police now believe that such incidents have become a trend among the youth as they go about ransacking and looting stores. 

In addition, a serial robber has also been frequently looting several Wawa stores in Philly. The armed man had robbed one store on September 8 and stolen $250 at gunpoint. The same man also robbed the Wawa on Roosevelt Boulevard three days later and made off with $200. Wawa has offered $5,000 as a reward to anyone who furnishes any information that could aid in the suspect's arrest. 

Robberies have surged in the city with 4,199 cases reported so far this year, an increase of 40.5% from 3,042 cases reported in 2021, reported the Daily Mail. While there has been an overall surge in crime, assaults and rapes have significantly dipped this year, while homicides saw a drop by only 1.8%. On the other hand, the number of shooting victims in the city has increased by 3.4%, with 1,706 so far this year as compared to 1,650 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia's DA Larry Krasner, a "progressive" prosecutor who was re-elected in 2021, has already faced impeachment attempts this year. Having been criticized for his stance on crime, police unions and other officials have also accused him of his leniency towards criminal activities.