correspondent susan candiotti is finding out, children aren t the only ones to blame here. reporter: the mayor goes for a nighttime stroll to prove a point. his city he says is safe. yet four times in the last year, so-called flash mobs, mainly teens, used texting and the internet to prompt gatherings that turned ugly. they take advantage of the large group and from that, all kind of mayhem results. reporter: mayhem like teens running through stores, including this macy s, merchandise destroyed, fights breaking out. in all, nearly 30 juveniles are convicted in the incidents. are the kids down there all just a bunch of troublemakers? of course not. reporter: 16-year-old charnell was there last saturday night but says she wasn t involved in any trouble. she s part of a citywide student association that add vo indicates positive activities. what do you want people to know about philadelphia and the kids in philadelphia? that we are not a flash mob. reporter: community activi
out. in all, nearly 30 juveniles are convicted in the incidents. are the kids down there a bunch of trouble makers? reporter: 16-year-old sharn elle was there last saturday night but want involved in any trouble. she s part of a cityside student association that advocates positive activities. reporter: what do you want people to know about philadelphia and the kids in philadelphia. we re not a flash mob. reporter: community activists blame state budget cuts that slashed youth programs and poor parenting as part of the problem. the fact that kids have nothing to do is our fault, not theirs. we haven t developed the programming. and it is our fault if they are not being adequately parented either. reporter: some are saying there are racial overtones and had the flash mobs been made of mostly white students there wouldn t have been such a huge uproar. the mayor deny it s. there is no racial component to stupidity. i want to go out after school or