Parents turn in teens in robbery of girl

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PHILADELPHIA, March 10 (UPI) -- Philadelphia police said Sunday they commended the parents of two boys, ages 13 and 14, for turning in their sons after they allegedly robbed a 9-year-old girl.

A surveillance camera Friday morning caught the boys as they eyed the third-grade girl's wallet in a store. They exited the store and waited for the girl to leave, approached her, snatched her wallet containing $13, and ran away, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"The Philadelphia Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the suspects ... " read a police release to news outlets and social media on Friday, accompanied by video clips from the surveillance footage.

The video police posted on YouTube rapidly got more than 1,100 views by Saturday evening, the Inquirer reported.

Late Friday night, the first teen's mother arrived at police headquarter with her son and said she had identified him as one of the robbers on the video.

An hour later, the second boy's parents called police, wanting to turn in their son. Police picked up the parents and the alleged robber at their home and took them to the detective division, police said.

Police spokeswoman Officer Christine O'Brien said the boys were charged with robbery and related offenses and went home with their parents.