Authorities are responding to reports of riots, vandalism and looting in West Philadelphia following protests in response to deadly police shootings in the city’s Cobbs Creek neighborhood.
Police said mobs set fire to cars and dumpsters on 52 and Chestnut streets late Monday night and looted several stores. Firefighters also responded to the fire on 52nd and Sansam streets.
Earlier in the night, protesters gathered at 55th and Pine Streets outside the 18th District Police Station, as well as 40th and Chestnut Streets at the University of Penn Police Headquarters.
During a protest outside the 18th District, at least four officers were hospitalized after being hit with bricks, investigators said. There are also reports of vandalism at the Penn Police Station, including spray paint and shattered windows.
Walter Valce Les, 27, of Cobbs Creek, was shot dead by two Philadelphia police officers after hours of protests, riots and robberies. Investigators said Wallace was armed with a knife when he approached officers and ignored them when asked to drop a weapon.
Witness video showed Valce Les walking towards officers as a woman, known as her mother, trying to control her. It was not immediately clear in the video whether Wallace had a weapon.
An investigator says he was stabbed and killed by police in West Philadelphia. A new video obtained by NBC 10 shows a woman, known as the mother of a witness man, who officers tried to control just moments before the shooting.
As Wes continues to contact the officers, the camera briefly points downwards and several gunshots are heard as police open fire. Then the camera hit me again when his mother ran towards him, and while screaming crazy, showed Wallace moving on the ground.
Wallace was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenny, Police Commissioner Daniel Outlo and District Attorney Larry Krasner released all statements in response to the shooting and said they would investigate the incident.
Fraternal Order Police Chief John McCannesby also issued a statement defending the officers.
The shootings, protests and riots erupted Monday amid widespread unrest in Philadelphia and cities across the country over the course of a year in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Brano Taylor.
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