EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Clearer footage of Friday’s mob attack
We spoke to eyewitnesses
Surveillance footage released to The Tab Temple shows a clearer version of the mob attacks on Temple University’s campus on Friday night.
One of the girls injured can be seen entering a pizza shop where she was helped by eyewitnesses. Another video from October 15th was taken after police arrived on the scene of another juvenile gathering.
The surveillance video shows a group of juveniles attacking students – one of the girls can be seen entering Pizano’s Pizza on Oxford and Carlisle where she was helped by the workers.
Several of the juveniles can be seen running away in the video as the workers from Pizano’s are seen pointing them out to the police.
Included below is the full-length surveillance tape from Friday, October 21st.
Muhhamad Qurde, owner of Pizano’s Pizza on Oxford and Carlisle, and his son, Mike, were the first to witness the attack on Temple students led by the now infamous mob of juveniles which occurred on campus last Friday night.
They told The Tab about the attacks and what they were thinking while witnessing the mob outside the front door of their shop. The owner told us he wanted justice for the students who were attacked and to stop these fights from happening in front of his establishment.
According to Pizano’s workers and owner, Friday night was not their first encounter with the mob of juveniles – they have seen the same group of youths previously gather in front of their restaurant.
When asked about Friday’s attack, they seemed unsurprised.
“It’s the same group of kids that have been throwing rocks at our windows and parked cars,” said Muhhamad. Mike added that, “It was the same group of kids that were in a mob two Fridays ago.”
The mob incident they reported to have seen occurred near Main Campus on October 15th. This short video was taken after police arrived on the scene.
Students never received a TU Alert about this incident – it was only mentioned in an email about the attacks on Friday night which was issued by the Temple Police. The email was sent on Monday, October 24th.
It read, “A similar group of juveniles was reported two weekends ago near Main Campus on Saturday Oct. 15.”
Muhhamad and his son said they reported the violent incidents to the police, but were disappointed with the outcome.
“Police said they couldn’t do anything about the fights because they’re under the age of 18 and they’re just kids,” said Muhhamad.
Mike K, the owner’s son, was first to the scene and released the surveillance tape of the attack
His son, Mike, released the security video that captures the attack to Temple Police.
He recalled seeing multiple groups of juveniles coming from opposing directions on Friday night. He said one group was coming from Broad Street and the other was coming from 16th street.
He further explained that the two students who were attacked in front of his restaurant were severely hurt.
“The girl was too dizzy that she couldn’t even identify her attackers. If you watch the video, you could see me pointing to the police who attacked her.”
Mike didn’t realize at first that the ones who were being attacked were Temple students.
He recounted, “I was thinking the kids were fighting each other, but if I realized that it was a student getting hurt, I would have jumped in to help,”
Another worker from Pizano’s said he saw the juveniles firsthand and walked us through that night.
We were standing at the exact location where last week a student was so severely injured she couldn’t even identify the people who attacked her.
He demonstrated how several of the juveniles would grab rocks from areas such as the dumpster nearby and purposely aim at the cars as they drove. The worker stopped for a moment throughout his reenactment and walked quickly to a nearby parked car, where he would point us to the dashboard of the car as the main target of the juveniles.
Pizzano worker demonstrates how the juveniles were grabbing rocks from a nearby parking lot and throwing them at cars
What seemed like any parking lot near campus, the well-lit area was the reminder that this occurred closely to Temple University students.
In the email sent out to students, Temple Police advised them to be aware of their surroundings while walking and if possible travel with friends and walk in well-lit, regularly traveled streets or pathways.
After investigation, Temple Police has confirmed the juveniles planned their gatherings through social media posts.
On October 25th, President Richard M. Englert sent Temple students an email of what the university and Temple Police are planning to do.
“I know that random acts like these are unsettling. Temple police officers will work diligently with police from the city of Philadelphia, SEPTA and other agencies to ensure the safety of everyone in the Temple and neighboring communities. More specifically, we are following steps.
• We have increased the presence of Temple Police and security officers on and around campus. We will nearly double our presence over the weekend, especially in the days around Parents and Family Weekend and Halloween.
• With the assistance of the city police, we are monitoring social media sites.
• We will work collaboratively with neighboring business establishments.
• We will work with city officials to aggressively prosecute those guilty of crimes like the ones that occurred on Friday.
• We are working with Temple Student Government to ensure that we view security through the eyes of students and the things that are important to them.
• We are also asking for input from our faculty and other employees about ways to continue to keep our campuses safe. Amy member of the Temple family can send ideas and comments to [email protected]. We welcome your insights.”