Mob Of Juveniles Attacks Students, Police, Horse At Temple University: Cops

Somewhere between 25 and 50 young people were taken into police custody on Friday night after a number of mob-style attacks were carried out on the Temple University campus, according to authorities.

The incidents left several students and bystanders injured. Four juveniles were arrested out of the massive group, police said.

Mobs of various sizes, ranging from 20 juveniles up to 100, roamed around Temple University and the surrounding area and committed the assaults when they came upon victims, police said.

Temple sent out an alert to the university community at 9:32 p.m. on Friday night stating that "large groups of juveniles" were roving in the area and that a significant police force had responded to the scene. Students were urged to avoid the area.

One student, a junior, described the attacks to The Tab, a college news site:

“My boyfriend and I were walking to his apartment at 8pm and we saw a lot of cops..." she wrote. "“We turned onto 16th from Cecil towards Oxford and halfway down the block, we see 10 then 20 then up to like 40 kids pour out from around the corner of Oxford and 16th and we then crossed the street but two kids followed us and hit my boyfriend. My boyfriend ran and got away but the second I tried to run, they grabbed me by my hair and started beating my head and back."

The student added that she did not receive the TU Alert until two hours after she had been beaten, when there was already a police presence on campus.

Police have issued official reports on four incidents which occurred between 8:30 p.m. and 9:20 p.m.

• At 8:30 p.m., on the 1400 block of West Oxford Street, a group of 20 juvenile males and females came upon three college-aged victims, police said. The victims, a 19-year-old woman and two men, aged 19 and 20, were kicked, punched and knocked to the ground by the group, according to authorities. An iPhone was stolen. Police said they arrested two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17.
• At around 9 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was seen throwing rocks at passing cars on 1900 North Broad St., police said. Authorities said that a "flash mob" was in the area at the time causing general havoc. When police and Temple security moved to arrest the teen, he threw the Temple officer to the ground off of her bike before fleeing. Police caught up with him on the 2000 block of North Broad Street where he was arrested.
• Shortly thereafter, at 9:10 p.m. on 1701 North Broad, mounted patrol officers came upon another flash mob, this time consisting of between 75 and 100 individuals, according to authorities. As police attempted to disperse the crowd, a 16-year-old male came up to the officer's horse and punched the horse twice in face before fleeing. He was swiftly arrested.
• At 9:20 p.m. on the 1700 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue, three college-aged teens were attacked by a group of 20 to 30 male and female juveniles. The group had several belongings stolen and destroyed including an iPhone, debit card, wallet, backpack and wireless speakers, police said.

It's unclear exactly how many students and police were injured in the attacks. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Patch file photo