Situation Report: Riots in Philadelphia following Police Shooting

Violence in Philadelphia last night may continue for the next several days and could be an early sign of future post-election chaos.

Rioting broke out following the police shooting of a 27-year old African American man armed with a knife. Walter Wallace Jr., an African-American man from the Cobb Creek district of Philadelphia was shot to death by police after approaching officers while armed with a knife according to video of the incident available on social media.

News reports indicate as many as thirty law enforcement officers were injured, including a 56-year old female sergeant run over by a perpetrator in a black pick up truck. Protestors surrounded the 18^th Police Precinct, where at least 4 police officers were hospitalized after being struck by thrown bricks. Police appeared to struggle to regain order, with one video showing police apparently retreating before an advancing crowd. The Philadelphia City Council’s Public Safety Committee recently approved a ban on the use of non-lethal munitions against protestors a week ago. That proposal is now headed to the full council for a vote.

While most streaming videos from the riots showed opportunistic looting, some videos indicated the use of Black Bloc tactics, including the deployment of high-powered lasers by protestors which have become increasingly common and are used to blind police officers. Local Philadelphia radical left organizations were active on social media crowdsourcing bail funds, information, and logistics.

Additional actions are planned for Wednesday October 27^th, according to social media accounts, while the Pennsylvania National Guard is being called up. It may be Thursday before troops are deployed to Philadelphia streets, according to Steven Keeley of Philadelphia’s Fox News 29 citing emergency management sources.

Philadelphia has faced continued unrest since the death of George Floyd sparked Black Lives Matter protests nation-wide.

This latest outbreak of rioting comes at a bad time for the Biden campaign as Pennsylvania remains a major election battleground notes David Goldman in the Asia Times. Riots in Philadelphia may be a foretaste of events to come as hard left groups in multiple cities prepare to respond to the outcome of the election.