D.A.: Three to be charged in Center City attack

The District Attorney's Office today approved arrest warrants for three suspects in the Sept. 11 attack on a gay couple near Rittenhouse Square.

Philip Williams, 24, Kevin Harrigan, 26, and Katherine Knott, 24, will be charged with two counts of aggravated assault and related offenses in the incident, District Attorney Seth Williams said.

All three reside in Bucks County.

"I would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation and the public for the outpouring of information and tips in this case," Williams said.

Yesterday, police turned the investigation over to Williams' office after compiling an extensive file of statements from the victims, witnesses and persons of interest, said Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey.

The victims, a gay couple that have been together for six years, told the Daily News that they were attacked by a group of about 12 twentysomethings on Chancellor Street near 16th.

The men said they were beaten by the group, who spat homophobic slurs at them.

Sources told the Daily News that some members of the group were alumni from Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Bucks County, who had dined at La Viola West, a nearby upscale eatery, prior to the encounter.