52 people arrested after looters target stores across Philadelphia

Police say dozens of people were arrested after a massive group of looters ransacked businesses across Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

A total of 52 arrests have been made so far, police said Wednesday. Of those, 49 are adults and three are juveniles.

The chaos started around 7:30 p.m. after numerous 911 calls stated a large group, possibly as many as 100, moving through Center City.

Video obtained captured a group of people taking items out of a Foot Locker store around 8 p.m. on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street in Center City. Several juveniles fled the scene, but at least one adult was arrested, police said.

Subsequent incidents of looting were reported in quick succession. At 8:12 p.m., officers responded to a call of looting at Lululemon located on the 1700 block of Walnut Street. In this case, officers successfully apprehended multiple individuals involved in the looting.

Around 8:18 p.m., a radio call reported looting at the Apple Store on the 1600 block of Walnut Street. No arrests were made at this time in connection with this incident, police said.

The store sustained losses in terms of phones and tablets, although numerous stolen items have since been recovered.

One woman says she was sitting with friends at a.kitchen+bar on 18th Street when she witnessed people ransacking a store.

“I saw a bunch of people like go into the Lululemon, clothes everywhere,” she recalled.

A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said 18 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores in Philadelphia were looted.

On Wednesday, all FW&GS stores in Philadelphia and one in Cheltenham Plaza were closed “in the interest of employee safety and while we assess the damage and loss that occurred,” the spokesperson said.

Police tell reporters the lawlessness is not related to an earlier protest over the fatal police shooting of Eddie Irizarry.

“What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation and make an attempt to destroy our city,” said Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford.

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