Philadelphia: Apple store looted by teenagers

Protests had erupted across Philadelphia over a court ruling that had dismissed charges against a police officer Mark Dial over the fatal shooting of Eddie Irizarry during a vehicle stop on August 14th. 

At the same time as the protests, instances of vandalism and looting of stores have also resurfaced. 

“Large crowds of juveniles looted multiple stores and damaged property across Center City Philadelphia Tuesday night. It was around 8 p.m. when police started receiving calls that large crowds of juveniles were making their way into Center City. 15-20 arrests so far and two firearms have been recovered,” Police Commissioner John Stanford  stated in light of the incident.

No physical injuries were caused as a result of the incident although a police vehicle sustained damages.

The stores looted included an Apple store and a footlocker store. Such incidents were also witnessed during the protests after George Flyod’s death in May 2020. However, the police were clear that the incident was not orchestrated by those leading the protests. 

“What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists.These were not protesters, these were criminals,” John Stanford said.