Booze Store, Truck Carrying Nikes Hit During Second Night of Philadelphia Looting

A state liquor store was robbed again in a second night of scattered, chaotic looting in Philadelphia Wednesday.

A video from the scene showed damage to the store’s security gate and a glass window smashed, according to WTXF-TV. Many shelves were cleared out and debris was scattered across the floor.

A tractor-trailer carrying Nike shoes also was looted at a loading dock in Northeast Philadelphia, according to the station.

Looters attempted to hit a sneaker store, but staff there said police were on the scene quickly and nothing was stolen. One person reportedly was arrested at the scene.

Wednesday night’s looting appeared to be much smaller in scale than on the previous night.

Philadelphia police reported arrested 52 teenagers and adults after multiple stores were looted in the city’s main business district on Tuesday.

They ranged in age from 14 to 37, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. Most were charged with burglary, while one person was charged with stealing a car from a U-Haul location. Several, including three children, face riot charges.

Police estimated between 100 and 200 people had looted the stores.  Among them were Apple, Foot Locker, Lululemon, Aldi, Rite Aide, Game Stop, Auto Zone, T-Mobile, Walgreens, Family Dollar and several liquor stores in Center City.

“This destructive and illegal behavior cannot and will not be tolerated in our city,” said Mayor Jim Kenney via social media, calling it a “sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity.”

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

The stores were “closed in the interest of employee safety and while we assess the damage and loss that occurred. We will reopen stores when it is safe to do so and when the damage is repaired,” liquor board spokesperson Shawn Kelly said.

Lululemon also was closed on Wednesday. A sign on the front door said it would reopen “when it is safe to do so.”

The flash mob was allegedly organized on social media. One TikTok influencer livestreamed her own arrest.

Police said seven cars also were stolen from a lot in the northeast during the looting. One of them was recovered as of Wednesday afternoon.

Six businesses in a single retail corridor of North Philadelphia were looted, including three pharmacies, a hair salon, a tax preparation company and a phone store, according to the North 22nd Street Business Corridor, a business group.

Benjamin Nochum, the pharmacist and store manager at Patriot Pharmacy, said it was the third time since 2020 his business had been hit.

“When looters steal from us, what they don’t seem to understand is that they are also stealing from our neighbors,” Nochum said in a statement. ”It makes you question how much longer you can hang on.”

With the Associated Press