Philadelphia Wawa Ransacked by Mob of ‘100 Juveniles’

foreign. [Music]. dozens of teens ransacking a shop in. Philadelphia and it's all caught on. camera. [Applause]. that video is now going viral so what. will police do with it. I'm angenette Levy and welcome to law. and crime's sidebar podcast this. incident in Philadelphia happened on. Saturday night around 8 30 p.m a bunch.

of teenagers went into the shop and. really just went crazy taking things. trashing things even twerking on. countertops take a look. foreign. [Music]. [Applause].

[Music]. foreign.

[Applause]. and joining me to discuss this now viral. video is Rick blyberg he was an Ohio. State Trooper for 29 years a veteran of. law enforcement Rick welcome to sidebar. thanks for coming on thanks for having. me Rick what are your thoughts uh after. seeing this video you know you kids know. these days that everything is on camera.

everything is on video there are cameras. everywhere well you know and I I think. the times have changed so much over the. years that with social media and. everybody does have a camera that. um sometimes I think they it's one of. the reasons why they do what they do so. they can get themselves on camera and. they can. um and especially when they get in a. pack a group like that and just go crazy. it's just you know just no respect for. others property and it's not getting any. better and I think the social media and.

the access to video and posting. everything that they do. doesn't help the situation. this episode of Law and crime sidebar. podcast is brought to you by betterhelp. you know we've all had times in life. where we were going through something. tough and it really helped to talk it. through with someone I know it's. happened to me when I've lost loved ones. you have to take care of yourself both. physically and emotionally and you can. get that help online better help online.

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can get 10 off your first month at. betterhelp.com sidebar that's 10 off. your first month of online therapy at. betterhelp.com. sidebar what I think is interesting. about this is the fact that you know it. seems to be happening more this happened. in Philadelphia as I mentioned it's a. store called Wawa it's a brand of store. our chain if you will and you know these. kids do know that they're going to be on. video you were a police officer a State.

Trooper for 29 years do you recall ever. seeing this type of thing where kids are. running into stores and just ransacking. them you know just for the fun of it on. a Saturday night. no I can't recall during my career. you know I think kids always did things. and got themselves in trouble and and uh. you know did their school pranks and. senior pranks and things like that that. we all did as kids but anymore it's just.

it is getting. just getting out of hand and you see. these things occurring in big cities. across the country and and I think it. snowballs I mean when a sad thing is. maybe after this video is posted. everywhere that there may be copycats. wanting to do the same thing. it's nuts but you're on video so police. if they really want to I could put this. video out to the media it was on tip. tick tock on a handle called Libs of.

tick tock I mean you could easily. identify these kids if you wanted to I'm. assuming yes absolutely and uh and they. will. um but you know will they be prosecuted. I don't know that the penalties are. stiff enough for. these types of crimes. you know they need the. I think they they need to be prosecuted. and they need need to be held.

accountable for their actions and I I. sometimes I think they don't really. care about the results of being on video. obviously because they they know that. they are and it's still posted and they. still do these type of things so. um I think they do need to be prosecuted. and this did follow an incident in. Philadelphia at another set of stores or. really another restaurant I should say. apparently there was a similar incident. in the German Town section of.

Philadelphia before this happened it was. in early August and it was a bunch of. teenagers going into a Jamaican. restaurant and apparently attempting to. harm the employees there according to. what the New York Post is reporting the. group flip tables through chairs and. other objects at workers and shattered. security glass inside the. establishments so I'm thinking to myself. what on Earth is going on here I mean. are these kids just not.

being taught that this is not what you. do this is not how you handle things I. mean do you know. um is there some type of phenomenon. spreading where kids think this is cool. so they do put it on social media and. then they're trying to top each other I. mean God only knows what's going on. yeah I don't I mean I wish I had the. answer to that I know that uh you know. you know they apparently these kids are. all under the age of 18 or 18 and under. um and I know you know I have four.

boards and when they were that age we. pretty much knew where they were at what. they were doing most of the time. um you know I don't know you know their. situation in their with their parents or. Guardians and you know having you know. um you know I think it it mostly starts. at home and I don't know that um that. they're having much supervision if if. they're allowed to go out and continue. to do that I mean I just. I don't know I mean I just to me it's.

it's just unfathomable. um because I I just you know the way my. kids were brought up and. um. hopefully it would not do something like. that but. it does seem to be uh getting worse and. you see it more you know occur in your. bigger cities and. um in large groups like that. so you were in law enforcement for a. really long time what year did you. retire. I retired in 2009. okay continue to work.

in law enforcement and and have for the. past 41 years so it's been a while since. you were like out on the street I guess. per se. um but you know as much as things can. change a lot of times they stay the same. as well so. um what do you think is is going on in. this country with the state of law. enforcement you know we've seen a lot. going on over the last couple of years. we've heard things about cops you know. standing down not going to pursue. certain things because for fear of.

backlash and things like that so how do. you see how things have changed maybe. since you were in the game oh there's no. question that it's it's changed in the. whole. um you know with law enforcement and how. they how they respond whether it's by. policy or. um you know buy. um an agreement with the local union as. to how they'll respond to certain. situations because of the repercussions. that um that could occur and it's a.

shame that you can't police how you. should be policing because of those. those things. you know I just I'm thankful for the. years that I was out on the on the road. that we didn't have to worry about that. we could just go do our job and. you know I've been and do it the right. way. you know I I just you know I don't know. it's it's a they're in a tough tough. situation and. um you know all agencies across the.

country are hurting Personnel wise uh. Manpower. um. and I I just uh feel for all of them. and you know this is in Philadelphia. it's obviously a different environment. you know each city is different. um but you know I don't know if the. Philadelphia police force is going to. like really look into this more. seriously I don't know if they've got. way too much on their hands already in a. lot of cities crime is up. um I guess that's not true of all cities.

so where would you think this ranks on. the priority list when you're talking. about serious not that this isn't. serious but we're talking like homicides. burglaries things of that nature and. then this yeah I think uh you know it. you know with the crime being where it. isn't the Manpower shortages that most. of your bigger cities face today that um. that may not be a high priority but I. I'm sure that they're looking into it. and doing what they can but it is a lot.

of times those things are put on the. back burner because of the the amount of. Investigations that they have that. require. um much more attention such as the. homicide and severe crimes that are that. are going on in all the cities. and there was tens of thousands of. people have watched this online which is. amazing to me I I don't understand why. these videos people like these videos so. much also thousands and thousands of. dollars were caused to this Wawa store. it's a convenience store and you know.

these are oftentimes owned by people who. live in these Community communities or. what have you I mean these are small. business owners so thousands and. thousands of dollars can be a big hit to. them they want people to call apparently. with tips about who these people are the. police have not yet made any arrests but. if they're apparently going through the. video and the number two call the. Philadelphia Police Department's. Northeast detective division is.

215-686-3153 that's. 215-686-3153 I can't imagine you know. Rick I guess if they go through the. video they could definitely get some. screen grabs of some of the people who. are more recognizable in the videos and. then just kind of get them out there on. social media and easily Identify some of. these people yes I'm sure they'll. identify. a lot of them if not most of them with. the technology that's out there today. and I'm sure they have somebody on this.

and it does take some time to get those. images out and uh. hit them identified whether it's through. their own social media Pages or whatever. avenues that they use but I'm sure. they're on this especially with the. amount of tension it's getting. yeah definitely we will just have to. wait and see Rick blyberg thanks so much. for coming on we appreciate it thank you. for having me on and that's it for this. edition of Law and crime's sidebar. podcast it is produced by Sam Goldberg.

and Michael dininger Bobby zoki is our. YouTube manager Alyssa Fisher handles. our bookings and Kiara Bronson does our. social media you can listen to sidebar. on Apple Spotify Google and wherever. else you get your podcast and of course. you can always watch it on Law and. crimes YouTube channel I'm Anjanette. Levy and we will see you next time. [Music]. thank you.