Second night of chaos in Philadelphia as ‘over 1,000’ looters trash stores after cop shooting of black man with knife
LOOTING and demonstrations across Philadelphia continued for a second night on Tuesday, following the fatal police shooting of a black man.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in protest of the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., 27 – while, elsewhere, individuals could be seen setting fires, smashing up storefronts, confronting police and looting goods.
Wallace Jr., 27, was shot dead by two officers in West Philadelphia on Monday afternoon.
In footage of the incident, he appeared to be wielding a knife and ignored orderers to drop the weapon before officers opened fired.
Wallace was reportedly shot 14 times, officials say, and neither officer was carrying a taser.
On Tuesday, Wallace’s parents claimed that officers knew their son was mentally ill.
CONTINUING DEMONSTRATIONS
Roughly 500 people had gathered at a West Philadelphia park on Tuesday night, where they began chanting and marching through the neighborhood.
Elsewhere, video footage showed people streaming into stores and stealing goods as they left on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot.
A little after 8:30pm ET, Philadelphia Police issued a warning that a crowd of approximately 1000 was looting business in the area of Castor and Aramingo and to avoid the area.
Images and footage showed fires had been started in the middle of some streets, while a large police presence was required at a Target and Walmart, where windows appeared to be smash and items of all sizes stolen.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management tweeted around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, cautioning residents in eastern Philadelphia to remain indoors.
In a number of districts, residents were requested to stay indoors to avoid the demonstrations that had “turned violent.”
Earlier in the day, The Pennsylvania National Guard said several hundred members were to be deployed to the city over the next 24 to 48 hours at the request of Philadelphia County.
The request stemmed from Monday night’s violent protests, where thirty police officers were injured and one female officer suffered a broke leg when she was hit by a pickup truck, police said.
POLICE INVESTIGATION
More than 90 people had were arrested during Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
Rodney Everett, Wallace’s uncle, told local reporters: “I do not want to see my city tore down. We don’t need that. You’re not resolving anything for our family. Don’t do this in the name of my nephew because this is not what he would’ve wanted.”
On Tuesday, state and local officials called for transparency and a thorough investigation into Wallace’s death – including the release of body camera footage from the two officers who fired their weapons.
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The names of the officers were not released as checks were carried out on their safety, officials said, adding that they had been taken off street duty during the investigation.
Wallace’s father, Walter Wallace Sr. said Tuesday night that he is haunted by the way his son was “butchered.”
“It’s in my mind. I can’t even sleep at night. I can’t even close my eyes,” he said.
