PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Philadelphia was hit by incidences of heavy looting on Tuesday night, with large crowds ransacking stores.
Police said about 100 people moved through the city, targeting high-end retail stores, leaving a path of debris and destruction behind.
Dozens of businesses were looted.
More than 50 suspected looters have so far been arrested.
Aftermath
On Wednesday afternoon, three looted stores in the city’s center—Apple, Lululemon, and Foot Locker, were closed. Through windows, the stores inside were seen as a mess.
Many other nearby businesses had signs on the doors saying they would close from 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., or even 3 p.m. that day.
There was a stronger police presence in the area than usual.
On Thursday morning, most stores hit by the looting were still closed. However, the looted Fine Wine and Good Spirits on 12th Street near Market Street was open.
A staff member told The Epoch Times they were not allowed to talk to the media.
The owner of a hair salon in Philadelphia’s Chinatown, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was closing his store around 4pm for safety reasons.
Real Estate Broker: ‘It’s Tragic’
Several people in the affected area shared their concerns about Tuesday night’s looting, including commercial real estate broker Stanford Wilson, whose office is just adjacent to the looted Apple store.
“We are directly affected by the actions that took place last night. It takes a lot to get some of these retailers, the big brands, Apple, Tiffany, and places like that to come into the city,” Mr. Wlison said.
“When a situation like this happens, they lose a lot of capital. And when they lose capital, they see it as an area in which they shouldn’t be,” he said.
“It’s a tragic, tragic event, to say the least,” Mr. Wilson said.
“You just really don’t expect to see things of that nature happening like out here, especially in Rittenhouse; it’s quite sad to see.”
The Rittenhouse neighborhood is among the highest-income urban areas in the country.
Mr. Wilson wants to see more preventive work done in the future as the looting appeared very organized.
Engineer: Police ‘Not Allowed to Work’
Mechanical engineer Matthew Steinhauser said Philadelphia has changed a lot over the years.“It’s out of control. It’s nuts. I moved back here 10 years after leaving, and the buildings are the same, but it’s a different city,” Mr. Steinhauser said.
“And the worst part about it is that people are suffering and lashing out.”
Mr. Steinhauser said he went to college at Drexel in Philadelphia.
“I remember it being a safe area. There’s really nowhere here that safe anymore. And we have a wonderful police department, but it really seems like they’re not allowed to work,” he said.
Mr. Steinhauser also mentioned that larger companies and stores are pulling out of cities like San Francisco, L.A., D.C., and Chicago. Big retailer Target will be closing nine locations in major cities in four states due to thievery and organized retail crime.
Retiree: ‘It’s So Wrong’
Mark Jacoby, a retired Philadelphia resident, was born and raised in the city.He said the looting is “just so unnecessary and so wrong” and it is “very disturbing.”
“I don’t understand why ... it’s just wrong,” Mr. Jacoby repeated.
“People have forgotten who we are. I mean, I grew up in the 1950s,” Mr. Jacoby said.
“It’s not the world that I was raised in. It’s not the world that I grew up in. And it’s not the world that I know. Because I remember when everything was just beautiful at that time.”
11th Grader: ‘It’s Devastating’
Sammy Grossman, an 11th-grade student, said he loved to shop at the affected stores with his parents.“It’s devastating, honestly; I mean, Lululemon is a great store. Apple is also a great store, and Footlocker is a great store. I love buying sneakers. Sneakers are amazing. And phones are amazing,” Sammy said.
“I think it’s absolutely devastating. And it’s horrible to the city because people just have nothing else to do but lose these places.”
Sammy hopes the government can enforce the law and order for the community’s safety.
“I think it would be much better to have the law so nobody can come out here and steal things from anyone.”
Journalist: ‘It’s a Breakdown’
Alex Newman, journalist and president of Liberty Sentinel media, told NTD that the Philadelphia looting is part of a much broader societal shift.“It’s a breakdown in the culture of morality. It’s a breakdown in the culture of law and order. That is very, very dangerous,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of mayors and police chiefs and Democrat city councils, especially in big Democrat cities on the West Coast, and now even on the East Coast, where this stuff is not only tolerated but even encouraged. It’s incredibly dangerous, and I believe it’s part of a broader plan,” Mr. Newman said.
“When you have this kind of lawlessness, people are ripe for revolution; people become ripe for radical changes.”
Mr. Newman thinks one of the biggest problems causing the breakdown of morality and law and order is what’s happening in public schools.
“Where children are being taught that morality is subjective, that there is no really right and wrong, you can have all these grievances, you can be a victim. And so you’re entitled to take things from others; you’re entitled to steal,” he said.
“We need a cultural shift back to what we once had in this country, where law and order and morality were respected,” he said.
He emphasized that what we’re dealing with here is part of a much broader phenomenon.
