Police: Philly Wawa reports thousands in damages after being ransacked by roughly 100 juveniles

Police are revealing more about an investigation after roughly 100 juveniles vandalized a Wawa convenience store near Philadelphia’s Mayfair neighborhood Saturday night.

During a news conference Monday, Investigators said the Wawa located at the 7000 block of Roosevelt Boulevard is dealing with roughly $10,000 in damages.

Officers were able to disperse the crowd from inside the store, but not before several vehicles sitting outside were also damaged.

The Philadelphia Northeast Detective Division is reviewing video footage obtained from Wawa. Investigators are also looking into possible connections with a gathering at a nearby roller skating rink. Multiple videos posted online over the weekend are also being looked into.

Commanding Officer Capt. Jason Ryan said they haven’t determined what triggered the incident, but it could be connected to social media.

“It does fit in with the past 10 years with the various kinds of flash mobs, car meets, and other spontaneous disorder,” Ryan said. “The charges can include riot, criminal mischief, vandalism, theft, riot being a felony. If everyone’s seen the video, that certainly does fall into the parameters of what we can call a riot.”

No arrests have been made so far, but the potential subjects range in age from 10 years old to full-grown adults. First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford says officers have to exercise caution when responding to situations like this.

“If we just had officers running in and just grabbing kids, we would be having a whole different conversation today,” Stanford said. “We will utilize the investigative measures that we have to be able to identify folks that actually committed criminal acts and then take those steps where they go.”

Wawa shared a statement on the incident with WHYY News partner 6abc Saturday.

“We are working closely with law enforcement to support their efforts to bring all of the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible. We remain committed to protecting our associates and customers and ensuring a safe, welcoming environment for each customer, in every Wawa store. Nothing is more important to us.”