Residents are still trying to sort what happened at the corner of 46th and Walnut last night at 9 p.m. when as many as 20 police cars responded to a vehicle stop. Witnesses allege that police used excessive force on a 21-year-old man who they say was partially blind. That man and two police officers were hospitalized, according to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News.
The Daily News reports that people began throwing bottles and flower pots at police from nearby windows and balconies. One bottle reportedly struck a police officer in the eye.
Both the police officers and Holloway were reported to be in stable condition this morning.
We are trying to get more information on this story and we will post it when we do.
Below is a video recorded on a mobile phone. The visuals are unclear, but the audio is clear and includes expletives.
UPDATE (Aug 16) : The boy was found sleeping inside a school bus around 3:30 a.m. He was later reunited with his parents. Police believe he had wandered onto the bus from the playground when no one was looking.
Police say a 5-year-old boy went missing this afternoon from a camp at Malcolm X Park (52nd and Pine Streets). One witness told police that he saw a man dragging the boy down 53rd Street at about 5:30 p.m., ABC6 is reporting.
The boy, Karyim Muhammad, was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt, dark jeans and black shoes. Police are checking surveillance videotape from the area.
Anyone with information on Karyim should contact Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3184 or call 9-1-1.
Philadelphia’s new weekend curfew didn’t help a West Philly man who was attacked by a group of teenagers early Saturday morning near 47th and Walnut. Luckily, plainclothes police were able to help, catching all four teens before they could injure the man badly.
Police said four youths ages 14-15 ran up behind the man at about 12:40 a.m. and punched him. When he fell to the ground they surrounded him and demanded his belongings. Plainclothes officers from the University City substation were on the scene quickly and chased the youths down. All four face charges of attempted robbery, simple assault, wreckless endangerment and criminal conspiracy.
The officers had noticed the group of teens walking around the area earlier in the evening. But the group stayed clear of the West Philly section of the new curfew zone, which runs from 38th to 43rd, Market to Baltimore. The City implemented the 9 p.m. curfew in Center City and West Philly for youths under 18 following several beatings in Center City last month.
A Port Richmond man is in custody after he carjacked a 73-year-old man’s vehicle near 52nd and Chestnut yesterday afternoon and was chased by witnesses who alerted police.
Police say 33-year-old Hadbin Austin of the 3100 block of Janney Street wielded a 10-inch knife and wrenched the man from his 2011 Kia at about 3 p.m. Police said the victim was eating food he purchased at the nearby McDonald’s.
Austin smashed into another car, flattening one tire on the Kia. Several witnesses observed the incident and called 911, police said. As many as three people pursued Austin until he abandoned the vehicle near 40th and Market. The pursuers alerted police to the car’s location and officers apprehended Austin after a brief struggle.
Austin has been charged with aggravated assault, robbery and related offenses. Police said the victim was not injured in the incident.
The Daily News reports that three people, two employees of Verizon and one SEPTA worker, pursued Austin and helped lead to his arrest.
A different kind of flash mob. Young people protest violence last summer in Love Park. Photo by Brad Gibson in The Notebook.
Young people on the streets in a small section of West Philly after 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturday could be picked up by police under new curfew regulations aimed at deterring “flash mobs” in the downtown area.
The new regulations temporarily move the curfew for youths under 18 years of age from midnight to 9 p.m. on those days in Center City and a small section of West Philly. The new curfew is part of a plan announced yesterday by Mayor Michael Nutter that includes a bolstered police presence and longer hours for neighborhood recreation centers. The curfew for the rest of the city remains the same (midnight for youths 13-18 and 10 p.m. for children under 13).
The curfew will be enforced with additional police presence in West Philly from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and 38th Street to 43rd Street.
Nutter’s announcement comes a little over a week after roving gangs of young people severely injured pedestrians in Center City on July 29 (see video below). Among those arrested was an 11-year-old boy. Those attacks happened in the afternoon.
Fines of up to $300 will be levied against young people who violate the curfew. Parents could also be fined and even jailed if their children repeatedly violate the curfew.
District Attorney Seth Williams, who stood side-by-side with Nutter during yesterday’s announcement, said:
“We will be prosecuting these young criminals to the fullest extent of the law. There is no excuse for what they did, and they have brought great shame upon themselves and their families. Let this be a message to any others who think that participating in flash mobs is acceptable or fun — don’t do it. We will apprehend you, prosecute you, and send you away. You will not damage the reputation of our great City. And I will be working with our State Legislature and City Council to enact laws to hold those parents who permit their children to engage in this type of criminal conduct criminally accountable.”
The new curfew will last through the remainder of the summer and will be re-evaluated at the beginning of the school year.
The city has also authorized some 20 rec centers to extend hours until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
Centers in West Philly with extended hours include:
Myers Recreation Center • 5800 Kingsessing Avenue Christy Recreation Center • 728 S. 55th Street Kingsessing Recreation Center • 5000 Chester Avenue Shepard Recreation Center • 5700 Haverford Avenue
Here is surveillance video of one July 29 attack (originally posted on MyFoxPhilly). Some of the boys in the video are still wearing their school uniforms.
A 39-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint on the 200 block of S. 46th St. last night and this time it was not a BB gun. The man was shot in the foot when he resisted, according to police.
The victim told police he was walking along 46th Street between Spruce and Locust Streets near his home at about 10:45 p.m. when he was approached by two males ages 18-20 who asked him if he had a light for a cigarette. One of the young men then drew a grey handgun and demanded the man surrender his belongings. They took his wallet, which contained $70 cash and some credit cards, and searched through his pockets.
At one point, he told police, he resisted and the man holding the gun said, “This gun’s not fake,” and shot the man in the foot. Police found a shell casing near the scene but did not release the caliber of the gun.
The unidentified victim was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and was in stable condition this morning, police said.
The incident was the latest in a string of gunpoint robberies in the area involving young men in their late teens. Some of those robberies have been committed with BB guns, some of which police have recovered. Also, a few victims in recent days have successfully fought back against would-be robbers. But police are asking people not to take chances. Here is a comment by Southwest Detective Joe Murray on the recent rash of gunpoint robberies.
Police supplied descriptions of the two suspects:
• Black male, dark skin. Height: 5-1 to 5-5. Thin build, closely cropped hair. Wearing a black t-shirt with white stripes.
• Black male, light skin. Height: 5-10. Thin build. Longer hair. Wearing a tan t-shirt with a tie-die pattern on it.
Residents are still trying to sort what happened at the corner of 46th and Walnut last night at 9 p.m. when as many as 20 police cars responded to a vehicle stop. Witnesses allege that police used excessive force on a 21-year-old man who they say was partially blind. That man and two police officers were hospitalized, according to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News.
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