String of teen thefts could be related, Philadelphia police say

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are investigating to see if a chain of thefts may be related.

On October 14 around 3 p.m. at 300 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia police said a group of teens physically assaulted a 27-year-old man and robbed him of his Apple iPhone 6S Plus. The suspects then fled north on 2nd Street from that location.

On October 23 around 11 a.m., surveillance video captured a group of teens running with a laptop that was stolen from The Bean Cafe on South Street.

Michael Fortin said the laptop was stolen from him.

"It was a sunny day, and the sun was in the window so you can't really see their faces," said Fortin.

He said he was sitting at a table working on his Mac when it was picked up by one of the teens in the group, who then ran out of the store.

"There was a crowd of people pretending they wanted to order something, asking the baristas from the door, and then several people surrounded me," said Fortin, who lives in South Philadelphia.

A group of teens struck again on the 200 block of South 13th street where police said a group attacked two women on the morning of October 25, stealing a cell phone.

"These kids are young, they should be having fun not committing crimes and stealing," said James Gilmore, owner of The Bean Cafe.

Gilmore said he's now worried the teens could affect his business.

"People might be scared, it's not good at all it hurts more than one thing," said Gilmore.

Police are looking into if this is the same group of teens stealing electronics. If you recognize any of the people in the video you are asked to call Philadelphia police.