[ad_1]
PHILADELPHIA (Dagbladet) On Monday afternoon, 27-year-old Walter Wallace was shot by police. Already that night the video came showing that he was shot a double-digit number of times.
Shortly after, the first demonstrations began. They turned violent and set fire to a police car. 91 were arrested and more than 30 policemen were injured.
Destination state
see more
It takes place in the largest city in the important rocky state of Pennsylvania. Trump must nearly win the state with 20 voters to stand a chance, though he will be very welcome to Biden too.
Trump won the state by 0.7 percent in 2016, a result 4.4 percentage points better than opinion polls. Now Biden leads the state polls by 5 percent, and the question is whether the unrest in Philadelphia could affect the election.
On Tuesday night, the police seized the city and fought a tough battle. Police went early to arrest the rioters and put an iron ring around several exposed areas. The barricades, consisting of police officers with shields and batons, effectively stopped violence in the city throughout the night. On Wednesday, Philadelphia introduced a curfew that stopped much of the noise.
On Saturday, Trump will run again for office in the state.
Total damage
During the week, there have been some very dramatic scenes, even in the Port Kingston district. Here are shopping malls, department stores and restaurants in a row along the wide main road, with large parking spaces outside.
Many of the stores here are completely damaged. In the outside places there are glass fragments, garbage and the goods that were once inside. A glance at the “Dress for Less” clothing store reveals total chaos there.
The carpenters reinforced the barriers around the building and the store fronts are now covered with flagstones.
– There are no words
Some have also hired additional security resources as a result of looting and riots. At a bank branch near the battered store, a man in uniform is armed with a shotgun in his right arm and a pistol in his holster.
– I’m ashamed. It’s so disrespectful. There are no words to describe what I see. Here’s a burned American flag. Today I have been in several banks. Significant damage has been done. It’s a lot, a lot, says William Palmer.
see more
Now he works for a security company that he has been hired to supervise. The exterior ATMs have been demolished, the interior window has been smashed, and the American flag in the hallway has been burned.
14 shots
Walter Wallace (27) was shot by two police officers who moved into his parents’ home for the third time on Monday afternoon. According to police, he had a knife that he refused to drop when he made his way towards the two policemen.
They fired at least 14 shots while Wallace’s mother and several witnesses were close to the situation. Wallace was the father of nine children and had a dream of becoming a rapper. He was also previously convicted and according to the family had mental problems.
see more
When Dagbladet met with the family Wednesday night, they said they wanted an ambulance to the scene. Mora said he shouted “don’t shoot my son” at the police before the shots fell.
The family responds
At the same time, the family strongly opposed the violent riots and the looting of shops.
– The people who do it do not help me or my family, they do not show respect. They make us look like animals, Father Bob said Wednesday night.
The events are now also among the hottest topics in the ongoing presidential election campaign ahead of Tuesday’s elections in the United States. More recently, in August, the United States witnessed giant protests in smaller cities like Kenosha and Madison in Wisconsin after the Jacob Blake shooting. The George Floyd murders also led to mass demonstrations.
Trump ut
After Monday’s shooting and the riots that followed in Philadelphia, Donald Trump is now following up with similar messages he has received throughout the election campaign.
“The riots in Philadelphia are the latest consequence of the Liberal Democrats’ war on the police,” the White House said in a statement.
Philadelphia has Democratic Mayor Jim Keeney. The state of Pennsylvania is governed by a party colleague Tom Wolf, who has had several high-profile disputes with Trump.
Leaving thousands stranded in the cold
– In the US, we resolve disputes in the courtroom and in the court system. We can’t let the mob decide. The Trump administration is proud of the police and is ready, upon request, to send all federal resources to end the unrest.
– Will scare voters
The National Guard has already mobilized and is ready to move to Philadelphia.
Newsweek magazine writes that the riots and looting in Wisconsin had a negative effect on Trump. He has repeatedly tried to accuse Biden of cutting off support for the police.
Time magazine notes that Pennsylvania is made up of large cities in the east and west, where Democrats have a large majority and a large rural area in the middle of the state with several smaller places where Republicans are strong. They write that Trump’s message of law and order can mobilize them.
A reactionary majority
– The violence may be far from the field, but the coverage is not. Trump is doing everything he can to scare the voters of the village on his corner, Time writes.
– Dark message
Trump used looting and rioting heavily during voter rallies on Wednesday.
– Joe Biden has left the party in the hands of angry left wing socialists, Marxists and extremists. That’s what you get. Democrats have spent the entire year fomenting violence and hatred against the police. That is a terrible thing. That the mayor, or whoever, allows people to loot and loot is just horrible, Trump says in an obscure message, writes NPR.
– What the hell is wrong with him?
Joe Biden has also condemned the violence and looting.
– There is no excuse for looting and violence. No apology at all. Being able to demonstrate is legitimate and sensible. Looting is like his father said: “It doesn’t help, it makes it worse,” says Biden.
