As the city of Philadelphia faces violent unrest over a police-involved shooting that occurred on Monday, officials are reportedly investigating potential explosives found in a van, per local outlets. An influx of civil disturbance began after Philadelphia law enforcement officials shot and killed Walter Wallace, who reportedly charged at police officers with a knife and refused to surrender the weapon, officials said.
Law enforcement is investigating the “suspicious equipment” thought to be explosives.
#BREAKING : Phila Police discover van loaded with explosives, suspicious equipment at Logan Circle in Center City. Live report coming up at 11. @6abc pic.twitter.com/GWhMjR7D04
— Dann Cuellar (@DannCuellar) October 29, 2020
Rioting and looting erupted from violent protesters in response to Wallace's shooting, which is still under investigation by local law enforcement and officials, as Julio saw on the ground:
Some confusion amongst the Philadelphia BLM crowd as they argued which direction to march in. The crowd split up and went in different directions. pic.twitter.com/POctzhgBcH
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 27, 2020
Looters in Philadelphia are pulling up in cars and rushing into stores to grab as much as they can before driving away. pic.twitter.com/I7MCwLnnAg
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 28, 2020
In response to the unhinged violence, local officials implemented a 9 p.m. citywide curfew, ahead of Pennsylvania’s National Guard arriving in the city later in the week.
A citywide curfew is will go into effect tonight, October 28, 2020 from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. During this time, people may leave their homes only to go to work, seek medical or emergency assistance, or drop off a mail-in ballot. Please stay safe. https://t.co/6Er6yoLgXn pic.twitter.com/dwd6Td68ht
— City of Philadelphia (@PhiladelphiaGov) October 28, 2020