Last Updated on September 27, 2022
The Philadelphia Police Department released new surveillance footage of an incident where “about 100” teenagers ransacked and looted a Wawa store in Northeast Philadelphia.
Officers responded to the Wawa location shortly after 8:15 p.m. on Saturday in an effort to establish order as dozens of teens broke items and stole merchandise. Police found about 100 teens in and outside the convenience store, causing damage and creating chaos for workers and customers, Fox 29 reported.
Officials believe the group had just come from a nearby skating rink.
In footage uploaded by employees, teens can be seen ransacking the store while a frustrated Uber Eats driver asks how long it will take to complete the order. “It’s gonna be a little while,” one of the Philadelphia Wawa employees replied.
A large group of criminals ransacked a WaWa store tonight in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/bviiexZJR2
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 25, 2022
Police gained control of the situation and dispersed the crowd not long after arrival. No injuries were reported as a result of the disturbance, according to authorities. The store was completely ransacked and cleared of large quantities of merchandise, however.
The disturbance also spread to the parking lot, where teenagers jumped on top of parked cars, police said.
Police later released surveillance footage of the incident and have asked anyone with information to come forward. Possible charges could range from mischief to theft.
“The bottom line is that we cannot have this type of behavior happening in the city,” Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said. “The onus can’t always fall on police or other organizations, some of that falls on parents have to raise children properly.”
WATCH: New @Wawa provided store surveillance video to @phillypolice who say at least 100 people, mostly juveniles, “some as young as 10yrs old” shoplifting & ransacking Wawa store on Roosevelt Blvd & jumping on vehicles parked out front Saturday 8pm @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/mMY5Jec6Gd
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) September 27, 2022
Wawa locations in Philadelphia have been plagued by incidents such as the one that took place on Saturday night. Over Labor Day weekend, the company announced that their Center City locations would be closing early due to repeated instances of large groups ransacking the store and stealing merchandise.
A number of the company’s Philadelphia locations have closed indefinitely since 2020. Wawa executives do not believe the stores can be operated safely and expect to close more locations within city limits in the near future, a company source told National File.
