Mob of Teens Attack Students, Police on Temple University Campus

As many as 200 teens were part of the mobs, although far fewer people are suspected of crimes.

Temple University is increasing security after gangs of teenagers attacked students and police on and around the campus last weekend.

Multiple students received treatment after they were assaulted by the teens and four arrests have been made in connection with the attacks, according to The Washington Post.

Police believe the crowd of teens gathered because of an Instagram post calling for people to meet at a North Philadelphia theatre at the edge of Temple’s campus.

By 8 p.m. on Oct. 21, as many as 200 teens had gathered at the spot and were breaking up into smaller groups. Several of those groups began attacking Temple students who were returning to campus from a football game. Police say the attacks were random and vicious.

Police have identified eight people (six students and two police officers) who were victims in the attacks.

One man says his daughter, a student at Temple, was mugged by a group of 30 to 40 people and badly injured.

“She went down in the fetal position and they pinned her,” Joe Lauletta said of his daughter. “Her back is really, really cut up.”

Police say they have arrested two people they suspect to have been involved in the attack on Lauletta’s daughter. Another teen, aged 15, was arrested after he threw a female police officer to the ground.

The fourth arrest was made minutes later when a teenager punched a horse ridden by an officer who’d come to the area to break up the crowd.

Now police have released a local restaurant’s video surveillance footage of the mob in hopes of identifying additional suspects (seen below)

Temple University tweeted out a warning to avoid the area at 9:32, but some people said the message was sent too late.

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