Ashes for Ash Wednesday.

At least the didn't burn the town down...yet.

S.

Wednesday February 28 7:09 AM ET
Philadelphia Mardi Gras Party Turns to Looting

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Crowds of drunken Mardis Gras partiers looted
shops and battled police on horseback into the early hours of Wednesday
morning as a day of drinking and celebration came to an end, police
said.

More than 200 people were arrested after fights broke out in a crowd of
approximately 20,000 people who thronged a popular Philadelphia
nightclub district known as South Street for a Fat Tuesday celebration
that had been hyped by local business people and the media.

At least one person was hospitalized with head injuries after a panicked
driver drove into a crowd of young men.

Police said the widely promoted party began at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when
bars and restaurants opened along the strip. The crowd of predominantly
of young men congregated in growing numbers but remained peaceful until
around 11:30 p.m., when police tried to break up the celebration.

Sporadic fist-fights erupted. Then vandals began hurling beer bottles
through bar windows and attacking cars, including a media van owned by a
local NBC-TV affiliate. At least a dozen stores were looted.

``I've never been this frightened in a news gathering situation than
tonight, and I never want to go through it again,'' said cameraman Jim
Friedman, who filmed the melee.

Police, who had beefed up their presence after sporadic trouble at the
same event last year, advanced on the crowd, first on foot and then on
horseback and motorcycles.

Those arrested were arraigned at a special all-night city court. Charges
largely involved disorderly conduct and public drunkenness and most
defendants were fined $300.