[Photo by NDBUTTER]
INQUIRER: Philadelphia police shut down 11 blocks of South Street between 1 and 2 a.m. Sunday after officers decided that large crowds, estimated as high as 20,000 people, were in danger of overwhelming the area. Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, said Saturday night’s crowds apparently swelled because of rumors among local teenagers about the Greek Picnic, once an annual event that drew thousands of members of African American college fraternities and sororities to the city. While it was not held this year, a substitute event, which had difficulty securing a venue, drew some Greeks to the city. Vanore said local teenagers often had flocked to South Street on the Saturday night of the picnic. Meanwhile, in an unrelated disturbance around 7 p.m. Sunday in Old City, police said they were investigating a large fight that broke out in which two people were stabbed and taken to nearby hospitals. Authorities said the fight took place at Chestnut and Letitia Streets. MORE