Several Attacks Reported On Schuylkill River Trail

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Several attacks have occurred on the Schuylkill River Trail in the past few days, resulting in robberies, assaults, and eventually, arrests.

Four teenagers have been arrested and will be charged in connection to three separate recent incidents, 6 ABC reports.

Philadelphia police have reported between four and five young men, sometimes on bikes, have been approaching runners and walkers at various points on the trail, holding a BB gun that appears to be real, the report states.

They then demand money or other items from the victim.

The incidents occurred between Sunday and Wednesday. During a Wednesday night incident in Center City, one of the victims refused to unlock his phone and he was kicked and beaten by the group, according to the report.

Groups of teens on bikes assaulting trail users is nothing new.

Dating back to September, there have been frequent reports of runners and walkers being harrassed and sometimes sexually assaulted.

Residents in Philadelphia and elsewhere have expressed concerns about the lack of security on the trail.

During one October incident, when a woman called Philadelphia police to report an incident, the dispatch operator allegedly said, “where is the Schuylkill River Trail?”

For some, the recent arrests are too little, too late.

Residents in other Schuylkill River towns, including Phoenixville and Spring City, have also expressed concerns about crime on the trail, although violent crimes have not been pervasive in places outside of the trail’s Philadelphia section in recent months.