Philadelphia’s Center City district was hit by organized mass looting on Tuesday night, September 26. The controversial court verdict in a high profile police shooting case was only used as a distraction, cover and excuse. Local alcoholics will be particularly upset with the young punks because after most of the city’s liquor stores were looted, all of them were closed until further notice.
Organized mass looting
When the judge dismissed the charges against the police officer who shot and killed 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry on August 14, it was just the excuse a well organized group of looters was waiting for.
A “large gathering” of community members assembled to peacefully protest the decision and started to disburse around 7:30 p.m., police note. That’s when the violent mob came out to loot, pillage and plunder all they could haul away.
More than a dozen were arrested at the scene in Philadelphia’s Center City district as the mob went mobile and spread the looting to other locations. By morning officials were announcing they made 52 arrests.
BREAKING: Instagram influencer DayJia livestreams herself looting stores in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/Ou7KUg2d3D
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 27, 2023
As everyone surveyed the damage after dawn, they were shocked at the nuclear devastation left behind. Pharmacies and liquor stores were hit the hardest.
As his troops were finally starting to get a handle on controlling the mayhem, Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford held a late-night news conference.
“This had nothing to do with the protests. What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation.” They started getting calls to report the looting spree “around 8 p.m. from businesses reporting they were being broken into or getting ransacked.”
A caravan of vehicles
As soon as the police started packing up and going home after the protest, the looting began. According to the commissioner, “though the police department had begun moving officers out of the area, enough were around to respond quickly when 911 calls about break-ins began.” They estimate “at one point that crowd got as large as maybe 100 or so that were just making their way through Center City area.” Reports soon came in from outlying areas.
“We’re investigating that there was possibly a caravan of a number of different vehicles that were going from location to location.” That might have something to do with seven cars boosted from a car lot.
Police are convinced that the thieves came from “different parts of the city.” That’s about all they know until the investigation gets going. The aftermath looks like a war zone. By Wednesday, local merchants were picking up the pieces.
This happened 5 minutes from the Liberty Bell and right down the street from where the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
This is what liberalism has done to our country pic.twitter.com/GVt3ENzls1
— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_4_Trump) September 27, 2023
After this wave of looting, many of them are closing up shop for good. They’ve simply had enough. Police note “it was unclear how many businesses were hit Tuesday, but that targeted stores included clothing and sneaker shops, high-end stores, wine and spirit stores and pharmacies.”
Most importantly to local residents, at least the ones who have a regular taste for alcohol, “at least 18 state-run liquor stores were broken into, leading the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to close all 48 of its Philadelphia retail locations and one in suburban Cheltenham on Wednesday.”
Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, actually admitted on social media the episode is a “sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity.” The coordinated looting “stretched from downtown to northeast and west Philadelphia, leaving smashed display windows and broken storefront coverings.“
