Groups of over 100 teenagers broke into stores including the Apple store in Philadelphia’s Central City to steal several items on Tuesday, September 26.
The looting
An Apple Store was hit at around 8 p.m. and police chased fleeing teenagers, recovering dropped iPhones and a ‘pile of iPads’ at one spot, a police statement said.
More than 100 people who appeared to be teenagers looted a Lululemon store, NBC10 Philadelphia reported, citing a police officer.
Video posted on social media showed masked people in hoodies running out of Lululemon and police officers grabbing several and tackling them to the sidewalk, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
There have been wave of lawlessness
Just three weeks ago, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner resigned from her post as the Democratic run city dealt with a wave of homicides and lawlessness.
Videos shared on social media show officers attempting to grab thieves, some of whom are wearing Halloween masks, as they run riot through a Lululemon store.
One officer manages to hit one of the looters with a punch after managing to tackle them to the ground, in social media footage.
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The incident happened on Walnut Street in the heart of the city center and also involved a nearby Foot Locker and Apple store.
Police in the city said that they had so far made between 15 to 20 arrests and recovered two firearms from the scenes.
Footage shows bikes and piles of merchandise piled up on the sidewalk outside of the Lululemon branch as officers arrived on the scene and started making arrests.
