Riots Erupt in Philadelphia, 15-20 Arrested for Looting, Ransacking Retail Stores
Black Lives Matter (BLM) rioters were videoed ransacking high-end retail stores in Philadelphia on Tuesday night in what police called a “coordinated attack,” leading to the arrests of 15-20 individuals.
Riots occurred just hours after a Philadelphia judge dismissed charges against Mark Dial, a former police officer, for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old man, Eddie Irizarry. Municipal Judge Wendy Pew ruled that Dial acted in self-defense after hearing his partner’s witness testimony, which confirmed that Irizarry was wielding a knife, which was raised at Dial just before he was shot during the traffic stop.
But Irizarry’s family, as well as BLM activists, believed that Dial should have received a lengthy prison sentence.
In protest, just over one hundred rioters organized a mob-looting spree, hitting high-end retail stores like Lululemon, the Apple Store, and Footlocker across Philadelphia, leaving trash, merchandise, and broken glass on city streets. Looters also ransacked liquor stores, stealing bottles of alcohol all while sharing footage of their actions online.
As Philadelphia police made two arrests, protesters can be heard in a video yelling to one another, “Everybody keep [your] phone out!” to record the incident in an attempt to demonize the officers.
At approximately 9pm on Tuesday, an influencer on social media by the name of Dayjia Blackwell who calls herself “meatball” online, began live-streaming the looters on Instagram, laughing as a store was emptied out and vandalized by rioters. “Tell the police if they lock me up tonight it’s going to be lit, it’s going to be a movie! Everybody’s gotta eat!” she said to her followers.
Shortly after, police arrested Blackwell while she was in another individual’s vehicle, still live-streaming her evening. “We didn’t have anything to do with this!” she frantically told police officers. Her tearful mugshot quickly went viral online the following morning.
