Philadelphia police arrest over a dozen teenagers looting Lululemon and Apple
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A flash mob of teenagers ransacked stores in Philadelphia on Tuesday in what police called a coordinated effort.
Video of the looting was shared on social media, where people were spotted stealing merchandise from multiple stores, including Lululemon and Apple. The retail attack took place after a judge dismissed several charges, including murder, against a Philadelphia police officer.
A retail shop was damaged on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Philadelphia as a flash mob-style ransacked and vandalized downtown stores Tuesday night. Elizabeth Robertson/AP
"Thank you to @PhillyPolice for their swift response to disperse crowds and make necessary arrests related to last night's incidents," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, posted on social media. "This was a sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity, and we will not stand for it."
Thank you to @PhillyPolice for their swift response to disperse crowds and make necessary arrests related to last night's incidents.
This was a sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity, and we will not stand for it. https://t.co/r83gnayGi8 — Mayor Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) September 27, 2023
Roughly 20 people were arrested. The looters were not affiliated with a protest regarding the judge's decision, according to John Stanford, the interim police commissioner who described the looters as "a bunch of criminal opportunists."
People stand outside an Apple Store in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, after it was ransacked the previous evening. Police said groups of teenagers swarmed stores across Philadelphia in an apparently coordinated effort, stuffed bags with merchandise, and fled. Matt Rourke/AP
Lululemon made headlines in May after a couple of store employees were fired for trying to stop shoplifters in Georgia.
"At the end, [employees] are trained to step back, let the theft occur, know that there's technology and there's cameras, and we're working with law enforcement," Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald said. "Unfortunately, in this situation, the educators knowingly broke the policy, engaged with the theft, the thieves, across multiple points."
Conservatives reacted to the looting on X, formerly known as Twitter.
NEW: Mass looting breaks out in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as criminals were seen stealing IPhone 15s from the Apple Store.
Luckily, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained in 2020 why people loot: To feed their families!
I'm sure those IPhone 15s will taste great.
"They go out and… pic.twitter.com/y5RKMo2zwG — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 27, 2023
SEE IT: Apple Store looted in Philadelphia. America is on the brink. WATCH pic.twitter.com/z8tLgJwO71 — Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 27, 2023
BREAKING: Instagram influencer DayJia livestreams herself looting stores in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/Ou7KUg2d3D — Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) September 27, 2023
Social media influencer Dayjia Blackwell, known online as "Meatball," shared multiple videos on her Instagram page showing the looting as it was happening.
Philadelphia's looting comes right after retailer Target announced that it would shutter nine of its locations across four different major cities, including New York City, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. The retailer cited theft and safety concerns as the reasons for the closings.
"We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance," Target said. "We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all."
The blame lies squarely with progressives.
This is their social justice.
If that were actually true, then the blame for all the mass shootings would lie squarely with the conservatives.
I suppose you are going to tell us that some bill loaded with pork for climate change & indoctrination had some policing money in it and didn't get passed?
I don't think anybody bought that.
C'mon, man! It's their "summer and autumn of love", and the videos prove it! /sarc
Does that prove everything I said about them is true?
Will the left claim:
1. These people are starving and trying to survive (based on the videos, not a winning augment )
2 The businesses have insurance so its cool.
3. The businesses deserve it for having merchandise people want to steal.
4.. These are reparations for something or other...
followed by
How dare companies move out of underserved areas! They must be racist!
Well... racist or not... that's happening by the hundreds.
Everybody from Target to CVS is shutting stores in bad areas due to crime. Very soon we're going to have heavily indebted sociology students crying about "food deserts" or lack of local access to healthcare.
Sad thing is these stupid bastards don't know that once that I-phone leaves the store, it is worthless and is tracking their every move and even taking pictures.
Yep, pull a Sheriff Joe on em.
Put ‘em in a tent, with pink boxers and dry bologna sandwich’s for chow.
Living a thieves life ….
"Multiple videos online show dozens of people ransacking stores in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, including a Lululemon"
Is there a fashion move underway, I thought only the Starbucks CTL/PSL and bubble tea drinking, Whole Foods shopping, fitness loving young and middle aged white privileged women shopped there for the shear pleasure.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva called New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s comments regarding smash-and-grab robberies a “Jedi mind trick.”
The Empire State’s Democratic Representative recently told The Washington Times that “a lot of these allegations of organized retail theft are actually not panning out,” she said, naming a “Walgreens in California that cited the issue but didn’t have the ‘data to back it up.’ ”
LA County Sheriff Villanueva responded to AOC’s comments stating, “In the words of John Adams, ‘Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence,’” Villanueva continued, “No matter how badly certain politicians want to perform the Jedi mind trick to further their political narrative, the facts and evidence cannot be altered.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments referred to Walgreens’ decision to shut down almost two dozen stores in the San Francisco area, the city being nicknamed a “shoplifter’s paradise.”
In a statement to the Times, Walgreens said, “organized retail crime is one of the top challenges facing” Walgreens, commenting that the crime “has evolved beyond shoplifting and petty theft to the sale of stolen and counterfeit goods online.”
The current trend for thieves to break into stores and steal merchandise by the handful, or sometimes cart-full, is known as “smash-and-grab robbery.”
I think this smash & grab event occurred after a peaceful protest over a judge’s decision to dismiss all charges, against a former Philadelphia police officer in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry.
The litters may have believed that Apple, Lululemon and Footlocker didn’t do enough to stop this police killing. Also, by robbing these stores it would bring closure to the Irizarry family.
I just read that 50 have been arrested. Obviously the punishment that such criminals receive is no deterrent for others or even a deterrent for the perpetrators.
They do it to feed their families.
Of course that's why they do it. Everybody knows that poor people loot, riot, and steal high-end clothing and shoes so they can feed their families.
Now everyone is here.
18. Unusually busy afternoon. It's a good day.
It's odd that when somebody logs in they follow.
The same people who thing flash mobs and theft and looting is the norm.