Three teen girls charged as adults in Philly brick attack

PHILADELPHIA - Three teenage girls arrested for allegedly assaulting Temple students with a brick last Friday have been charged as adults, reports CBS Philly.

According to the station, the District Attorney's office has charged the girls - Najee Bilaal, 16, and 15-year-olds Kanesha Gainey and Zaria Estes - with aggravated assault, conspiracy and other offenses. The suspects are facing adult charges because of the violent nature of the crime, said a spokeswoman for the D.A.

These are the first reported charges since police said they had five juveniles in custody on Tuesday.

Capt. Frank Banford said investigators think the attacking girls formed an impromptu mob to carry out the crimes. He says they came together about 6 p.m. Friday evening via public transit, and in the span of 20 minutes attacked three students, then took off on a bus.

Police said that locating surveillance video from near where the attacks occurred was the key to finding the suspects. "They saw themselves on video," Banford says. "Some actually walked into the Ninth District (police station). Some, we were notified by their schools, who recognized them.

Officers knocked on doors along 17th Street in Philadelphia in the days after the attack, eventually finding a witness who told them the girls had invited her to join their "flash mob," reports CBS Philly.

Bail was set at $75,000 for one of the suspects and $100,000 for the other two girls. All are due back in court April 10. A defense attorney for the suspects has not been listed, according to the station.