Philadelphia looting: Dozens arrested, including juveniles, after stores ransacked across the city
PHILADELPHIA - Several retail stores were looted when police say a large group of people, including many juveniles, terrorized several sections of Philadelphia during an hours-long crime spree that spanned from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Police confirmed Wednesday that dozens of arrests have been made in connection with the looting incidents.
Interim Commissioner John Stanford told reporters the looting began around 8 p.m. when police responded to several reports of looting at businesses.
A massive police presence swarmed a stretch of Walnut Street between 15th and 18th streets. Videos posted to X, formerly called Twitter, shows retail stores like Lululemon, the Apple Store and Footlocker ravaged by what police called a "coordinated attack."
FOX 29's Steve Keeley obtained video of the ransacked Apple Store with iPhones and iPads scattered across the display tables. Keeley reports that many of the stolen Apple products were left behind when the thieves realized the device's anti-theft technology rendered them inactive.
Looting was also reported at businesses in areas of North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia.
In Northeast Philadelphia, the owner of Bruce Goldberg Northeast Pharmacy says 40 bags of filled prescriptions, including blood pressure and AIDS medication, were stolen during the chaos.
Stanford estimated that the crowd of unruly crowd of looters in Center City grew to as many as 100 people. As of Wednesday afternoon, police say at least 52 people have been arrested, including three juveniles, in connection to the looting. Two firearms were also recovered during the arrests.
Authorities on Wednesday shared a list of 30 people, including three juveniles, who were booked on charges related to Tuesday night riots:
- Aauanyae Haynes, 19
- Sabree Young, 31
- Steven Wells, 26
- Traquan Word, 24
- Lisa Talley, 34
- Yasmine Fields, 23
- Kenneth Frye, 24
- Kyreek Leak, 21
- Reginal Alexander, 33
- Gabriel Gines, 23
- Alena Giglliotti, 26
- Petra Gonzalez, 24
- Jessica Blake, 37
- Semaj Suber, 37
- Aniya Taylor, 21
- Hartzog Mashaad, 27
- Isis Morgan, 23
- Khalilah Green, 21
- Ernest McCollum, 31
- Joel Gomez Rodriguez, 22
- Giovanni Vargas, 29
- Jessica Arnold-Coit, 30
- Quanika McQueen, 31
- Denzel Walker, 27
- Mikal Reed, 26
- Tyheed Hill, 26
- Anthony Abner, 34
- Shakeema Leake, 24
- Shavonne Dyches, 41
- Tashae Whitfield, 29
- Joshua Trotman, 28
- Juannetta Williams, 50
- Dayjia Blackwell, 21
Two 14-year-olds and a 16-year-old were also arrested. Authorities say 27 people were charged with burglary, seven were additionally charged with riot and theft, and one was charged with a vehicle theft at a UHaul store.
The retail stores impacted include Footlocker, Lululemon, Rite Care Pharmacy, Fine Wine & Good Spirits, GameStop, Nice Pharmacy, Philadelphia Pharmacy, QRX3 Pharmacy, T-Mobile, AutoZone, Walgreens, Cash For Gold, Family Dollar, Aldi, and Rite Aid.
Philadelphia police say they are also investigating an incident out of Northeast Philadelphia where seven cars were stolen off a lot on Tuesday night. At least one of those vehicles has already been recovered.
Police are investigating the possibility that there was a "caravan" of vehicles going from location-to-location to loot retail stores around the city. Some of the people believe to be involved in that suspected caravan have been arrested, Stanford said.
Parts of Chestnut and Walnut streets were locked down overnight as police secured the area and "ensure the safety of both the public and property."
The looting comes on the same day a Philadelphia judge dismissed charges against former police officer Mark Dial in the shooting death of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry. Stanford, however, said the looting and unrest has nothing to do with a peaceful protest to rebuke the controversial decision.
"This had nothing to do with the protests," Stanford said. "What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation to make an attempt to destroy our city."
Police had extra officer on-duty Tuesday night in anticipation of possible unrest related to the judge's decision, but as the planned peaceful protest began to disperse police spread their reinforcements.
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Editor's Note: A previous version of this article named multiple businesses elsewhere in the city that were reportedly looted, including a Walmart location. Representatives from Walmart say none of their stores were looted as a part of Tuesday's unrest.