Teens storm Caribbean restaurant in Philadelphia where they flip tables, throw chairs, and a bicycle

Shocking footage shows the moment when a large mob of at least 20 teens storm a Caribbean restaurant in Philadelphia, ransacking it by flipping tables, throwing chairs and even a bicycle at staff. 

The raid took place on the night of August 6 at Zion’s Cuisine in The City of Brotherly Love’s Germantown neighborhood. 

In the video, the group can be seen flipping tables and throwing chairs at the plexiglass separating customers from employees. At one point, one teen grabs a bike from outside and throws it inside the Caribbean restaurant, where workers are hiding behind the counter and a door only for staff. 

Other teens were recorded stealing drinks from the eatery’s cooler.

‘They destroyed the glass, they broke my chairs, they messed up my refrigerator. It might be little stuff, but it costs a lot,’ the restaurant’s owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

Philadelphia Police are saying that it is aware of the incident but need more tips for its investigation. The law enforcement agency is also asking for the public’s help in identifying teenage suspects in the video. No injuries were reported. 

A crowd of at least 20 teenagers stormed through Zion’s Cusine, a Caribbean restaurant in the neigborhood of Germantown in Philadelphia, on August 8, where they flipped tables, threw chairs and even a bicycle at restaurant personnel hiding behind the counter

It remains unclear as to why the teens attacked the restaurant. Pictured: The juveniles outside the eatery 

One restaurant employee who also did not want to be identified, told CBS News that staff did not anticipate the attack.

‘Saying I hope they don’t hurt us. I was praying to God. I was just like, what’s going on? We were surprised. We didn’t do nobody nothing and we are just here in the neighborhood to serve neighborhood food,’ she said.

While taking shelter, many of the restaurant’s personnel pleaded with the youth mob to leave. 

Once the attack was over, employees had to clean up all of the mess and report the damage, which included a massive hole into the plexiglass. 

‘I am forgiving them and they must get their live together because they are going down the wrong road,’ one employee wrote in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the restaurant owner told NBC 10 that she’s sacred of reopening the eatery in a neighborhood becoming increasingly dangerous. 

‘We have done nothing to nobody, except open our store trying to make a living as well as provide a service,’ she said. ‘Nobody’s expecting that they’re going into business to get their place trashed.’

The restaurant reopened since the attack. Pictured: Zion’s Cuisine, a Caribbean eatery in Germantown, Philadelphia

Crime remains a serious concern for residents in Germantown, as the neighborhood experiences 114 violent crimes and 199 property crimes each year, according to Movoto Real Estate.

That’s roughly 16.02 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 27.96 property crimes per 1,000 residents each year. 

The rate of criminal activity in Germantown is higher than the average for the city of Philadelphia, even though the neighborhood’s rate of property crime is lower compared to the rest of the City of Brotherly Love. 

Specifically, the rate of violent crime in Philadelphia is 11 per 1,000 residents annually, while the rate of property crime is 34.42 per 1,000 residents annually. 

The pillage is the latest in a wave of gun violence that is sweeping the City of Brotherly Love, with the city seeing at least 264 fatal and 1,011 non-fatal shootings this year alone already, according to City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart.

There have been 292 homicide victims in Philadelphia so far this year according to Philadelphia Police statistics, a two per cent drop from this time last year.

But the total number of homicides in the city in 2021 was 562, 11 per cent, up from 499 in 2020. The trend has been rising steadily since 2010.

Given this mini crime wave, it is little wonder that a study found Philadelphia to be one of the most stressed out cities in the country, coming in fifth out of 182 cities nationwide in a ranking compiled by Wallethub.