No citywide curfew in Philly for second straight night as officials report no incidents of looting, vandalism

While two arrests were made on Saturday, there were no incidents involving injured cops, looting, damaged vehicles, or ATM explosions across the city, Philadelphia Police said on Sunday.
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice

For a second straight night, Philly will not have a citywide curfew in place in wake of the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. last Monday.

While two arrests were made on Saturday, there were no incidents involving injured cops, looting, damaged vehicles, or ATM explosions across the city, Philadelphia Police said on Sunday.

Mayor Jim Kenney then announced that there would be no citywide curfew on Sunday night and urged residents to stay safe. While he did not implement a citywide curfew for Halloween on Saturday night, Kenney encouraged residents to stay at home and avoid travel.

The city last implemented a curfew on Friday night, which started at 9 p.m. and concluded at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. Its first citywide curfew came on Wednesday night, but it was not implemented again on Thursday night. 

Civil unrest across the city was sparked by the fatal police shooting of the 27-year-old Wallace. Wallace, a Black man, was shot by two police officers who responded to a disturbance last Monday afternoon on the 6100 block of Locust Street in West Philly. His family said he was experiencing a mental health crisis and claimed their 911 call was for an ambulance, not police intervention.

Wallace was seen on video approaching two officers with a knife in his hand. The officers, who did not have Tasers, pointed their guns at Wallace and ordered him to drop his knife. When Wallace continued to advance and refused to drop his weapon, they fired at least 14 gunshots, causing fatal injuries.

The shooting is currently under investigation, and city officials are expected to release the police body camera footage and 911 recordings this week.

The National Guard is currently in Philadelphia to further aid with protests, following an order by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. 

Peaceful protests, however, have continued across the city in the wake of Wallace’s death. On Saturday, demonstrators took to the streets calling for justice while decrying systemic racism and police brutality.







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