Teens attacked by flash mob leaving carnival in Hunting Park
HUNTING PARK (WPVI) -- Two teens said they were attacked leaving a carnival in Philadelphia this week, in an incident that was caught on video.
Their assault was caught on camera in the city's Hunting Park section.
East Detectives are handling the case that happened steps away from the police department.
The carnival was on the other side of a fence and down from an intersection where the victims, Jayla and Miguel, say they were jumped and violently assaulted simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Jayla Santana said, "This girl just came and hit me, and my boyfriend was like, 'Oh, why did you hit her?'"
Santana would soon would find herself on the receiving end of a full-fledged attack of at least seven girls.
"And that's when her friend comes and hits me from behind. They were just hitting me, pulling my hair, stomping. It was boys and girls hitting me. I didn't even know it was guys until I saw the video," Santana said.
That video has gone viral.
The 16-year-old and her boyfriend, Miguel Fernandez, were on their first date, leaving the carnival at East Erie and Whitaker.
While waiting to be picked up, they encountered what they described as an aggressive flash mob of teens.
"I tried to defend her the best that I could," Fernandez told Action News. "I pushed the girl back, and then a second one hit her, and a third one hit her."
Fernandez was asked if there was a reason the couple would be targeted by these individuals.
He said, "For fun. To them personally, it's for fun. They mention it all over social media."
Fernandez said he's seen the group of attackers before. They identify on social media as a girl gang and, according to their Facebook posts, are planning an encore fight this weekend.
Captain Nicholas Brown of East Detectives said, "The 25th district is aware of this incident. They will have extra patrols at this carnival tonight, and throughout the holiday weekend."
Both teens have been released from the hospital.
Jayla suffered a concussion and is still in a neck brace.
She had this to say to the people responsible: "I'm not going to hold anything against you, because you're probably going through something in your life. So I'm not going to hold anything against them for what they did to me."
Police are investigating the incident.
Anyone with information about the girls seen fighting in the video, is asked to call the Philadelphia Police East Detectives Division.
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