Philadelphia Looting Arrest Count Reaches 72: ‘Make Sure These People Pay’ Says Mayor

Seventy-two people have been arrested so far following widespread, massive looting sprees in Philadelphia last week – and prosecutors need to make sure "these people pay a price," the city's mayor said.

A total of 67 adults and five minors have been charged in connection to the civil unrest, CBS News Philadelphia reported Monday. Most of those arrested are facing burglary and theft charges.

"The DA and the courts need to make sure these people pay a price for what they did," Mayor Jim Kenney said on Sept. 27.

Multiple stores in Philadelphia's main business district were looted two nights in a row last week, especially on Sept. 26, when police believe between 100 and 200 people forced their way into and walked out with goods from a host of retailers, including Apple, Foot Looker and Lululemon stores in Center City.

At least 18 state-run liquor stores were broken into, prompting the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to close all 48 retail locations in the city on Sept. 27.

The unrest followed a judge's dismissal of all charges against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry during a traffic stop in August.

Charges against the officer, Mark Dial, however, were quickly re-filed. He faces charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and official oppression.

Police have said, however, that the looters were not connected to peaceful protestors who turned out in the streets to support Irizarry, CBS News reported.

Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford said last week authorities believe the looters were organized on social media, according to CBS News.

Authorities allege social media influencer Dayjia Blackwell, known as “Meatball” to her nearly 200,000 Instagram followers and 400,000 TikTok fans, used her social media clout to encourage people to loot and vandalize businesses.

"This person incited a lot of other individuals to do at one point, what we know, is coordinated a caravan of individuals to go across the city hitting multiple locations," the acting police commissioner added.

An attorney for Blackwell, 21, who was live-streaming the incident when she was arrested, has decried her client's depiction in the media as racist and has said the live-stream video was meant to document the "raw reality of public outrage."

Attorney Jessica Mann said Blackwell was "doing nothing more than capturing the raw reality of public outrage when she streamed the events that occurred on the night of September 26, 2023, in Philadelphia.”

Mann said the response to her client and the looting represents "an all-out assault on black and brown people, as their character and actions are mercilessly vilified."

Blackwell is facing multiple charges including burglary, conspiracy, criminal trespass, riot, criminal mischief, criminal use of a communication facility, and receipt of stolen property.