US News

Teens trash Philly restaurant, sending workers searching for cover as city crime surges

A wild video shows a mob of teenagers trashing a Philadelphia restaurant, flipping tables, throwing chairs — and even tossing a bicycle — as violence soars in the city.

The caught-on-video rampage at Jamaican restaurant Zion Cuisine in the city’s Germantown neighborhood sent workers scrambling for cover behind a locked door and security glass shattered by a chair thrown by one of the assailants.

The viral video from Saturday made the rounds on social media showing a dozen or more teens enter the restaurant after some sort of confrontation.

A man, who appears to be a worker at Zion, retreats and falls down. He gets back on his feet quickly and he and others duck behind a door as the teenagers descend and throw objects toward him.

Security glass shattered by a chair thrown by one of the assailants.
The attack sent workers scrambling for cover behind a locked door. NBC10

One person then throws a chair into a glass barrier in front of the cash register. Another tosses a bicycle, which appears to hit one of the others in the crowd.

“They destroyed the glass, they broke my chairs, they messed up my refrigerator,” Zion’s owner told NBC 10 Philadelphia. “It might be little stuff, but it costs a lot.”

“We have done nothing to nobody except open a restaurant trying to make a living, as well trying to provide a service,” added the owner, who didn’t want to be identified. “Nobody’s expecting that they’re going into business to get their place trashed.”

Philly recently instituted a curfew for teens in the city.
This comes as crime rates in Philly and many other cities has risen. NBC10

The scene unfolded despite a city curfew for people under 18 years old, NBC noted.

The City of Brotherly Love imposed the curfew this summer amid soaring violence, ordering kids under 14 to be off the streets by 9:30 p.m. and kids 14-17 to be off the streets by 10 p.m., Fox 29 reported.

It wasn’t clear when the alleged ransacking of the restaurant took place. A Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson told The Post cops were aware of the video and investigating.