Thirty police officers injured and looting broke out overnight in Philadelphia following the fatal police shooting of an African American man armed with a knife on Monday afternoon.
Over 30 people have been arrested overnight for looting, rioting, and assaulting officers. Businesses looted included pharmacies, clothing stores and restaurants.
A 56-year-old sergeant was struck by a pickup truck near the corner of 52nd and Walnut streets around 12:45 a.m, according to 6abc.com. He suffered a broken leg and other injuries.
The other officers hurt were hit by bricks and other projectiles. All have been treated and released, the television station reported.
Most of the unrest for the police shooting took place in West Philadelphia, though NBCPhilaelphia.com said there were pockets of violence and looting in Center City, North Philly and Germantown.
SEPTA bus service on the No. 21 and 31 line is suspended due to “civil unrest,” SEPTA said in a tweet.
Hundreds of protestors took to the streets late Monday into early Tuesday with interactions between protesters and police turning violent at times, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
At least five police vehicles and one fire department vehicle were vandalized, the NBCPhiladelphia said. Several fires were also set and numerous businesses were looted.
Fatal police shooting
The police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old African-American man took place around 4 p.m. in the Cobbs Creek section of the city after police responded to a reported domestic dispute. Officers ordered Wallace to drop the knife, but he instead “advanced towards” them. Both officers then fired several times.
A video of the police shooting recorded by a bystander shows officers pointing their guns at Wallace as he walks toward the officers as they back away from him in the street, guns still aimed at him. They yell at him to put his knife down.
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Both then fire several shots and Wallace collapses. A woman runs up to him screaming. Several bystanders then approach him.
Wallace was hit in the shoulder and chest. He was put in a police vehicle and drove him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Some people spoke with city Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, who arrived at the scene a short time after the police shooting occurred.
“I heard and felt the anger of the community,” Outlaw said in a statement, adding that the video “raises many questions” and that “those questions will be fully addressed by the investigation.”
Wallace’s father, Walter Wallace Sr., told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his son was also a father, was on medication and struggled with mental health issues.
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