Philadelphia experienced a wave of looting Tuesday night, as various groups targeted retail stores and businesses across multiple neighborhoods. While a significant portion of the looting occurred in Center City, incidents were also reported in North and Northeast Philadelphia.
Center City witnessed bands of mainly young individuals ransacking several stores, with CBS Philadelphia capturing footage of looting at locations such as the Foot Locker on 15th and Chestnut Streets, the Apple Store on Walnut Street, and the Lululemon store in Rittenhouse Square. An unfortunate incident at the Foot Locker also included an assault on a security guard.
Elsewhere, in North Philadelphia, looters targeted the Patriot Pharmacy on 22nd Street and Indiana Avenue, employing a pickaxe to break the acrylic glass barrier. Benjamin Nachum, the pharmacy owner, expressed his disappointment, noting that this was the third instance his store had been looted. Nachum stressed his intent to serve the community and hoped individuals would recognize this.
In Northeast Philadelphia, reports of looting emerged from a Gamestop on Aramingo Avenue, where subsequent arrests were made. In another instance, the police discovered a car loaded with items suspected to be stolen from the nearby Aldi grocery store.
Philadelphia police officials clarified that the lootings bore no correlation to the peaceful demonstrations held earlier that day, protesting the dismissal of charges related to Eddie Irizarry’s death. Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford stated, “What we had tonight was a group of criminal opportunists taking advantage of a situation. We will not tolerate this. We have made, and will continue to make arrests.”
To further emphasize the disconnect between the peaceful protests and the looting, District Attorney Larry Krasner highlighted that Irizarry’s family had consistently called for peace, urging individuals not to associate the looting with their son’s tragic case.