6 arrested after teen girl cliques brawl in West Philly

Two rival female teen cliques went at it in a pair of brawls Wednesday night in West Philadelphia that resulted in the hair of one teenager being set on fire and six teens being arrested.

Philadelphia police on Thursday said six girls – three 16-year-olds, one 15-year-old and two 14-year-olds – were expected to face charges in the incident.

Their names were not released. The specific charges had not yet been processed, police said.

By the time officers arrived, the first fight had dispersed but the groups soon met again in a SEPTA stairwell at 46th and Market Streets, Walker said. That was where one of the girls was seriously injured.

The 16-year-old girl was pushed to the ground and punched, and another teenager lit the girl's hair on fire, police said.

"One of the girls pulled out a can of hair spray and sprayed another girl's hair and set it on fire with a cigarette lighter," Walker said. She suffered burns to the back of her neck and was treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and released.

Someone in the group also tried to slash a 13-year-old girl with a knife. The 13-year-old's jacket was torn but she was unharmed, police said.

"Apparently, you had two groups of girls who don't like each other who go to the same school, and when they saw each other on the street, they just started fighting," Walker said.