Police are hunting another 10 Philadelphia looters who broke into a Dunkin’ Donuts to steal a safe and merchandise, while 72 people have been charged in connection with a major raid on the city’s Apple Store two days earlier.
Businesses in Philadelphia were hit by looting for two nights last Monday and Tuesday, stretching from the city center to the Northeast and West districts. Police have now revealed that Dunkin’ has also fallen victim to thieves.
Dozens robbed the Apple Store on Walnut Street, while pharmacies, liquor stores, pawn shops and even a hairdresser were among at least 80 businesses targeted.
Among the hours of security footage now released by police is a video taken at the Dunkin’ on North 52nd Street, where robbers encountered the heavy iron safe after at least nine people entered the store.
Video shows the group stealthily approaching the shuttered store through the empty parking lot in the early hours of Wednesday morning before forcing their way inside.
Looters search closets after breaking into the Dunkin store on North 52nd Street
Close-ups of the suspect and the car released by Philadelphia police
One of them appears to wave at a second security camera inside before pulling down his hoodie as his friends rummage through cupboards and dump the contents on the floor.
Their excitement grows when they see the four-foot-high safe that they struggle to push into the parking lot.
An hour and twenty minutes after they approached the store, a white Jeep SUV pulls up outside and the group drags the safe into the trunk and throws a handful of other looted items inside before driving off with the trunk still open.
Five minors and 67 adults have been charged, Assistant District Attorney Clint Orem revealed Monday morning, including Dayjia “Meatball” Blackwell who became the crime wave’s poster girl after live-streaming the downtown raids on her Instagram page, complete with cheering comment.
“Tell the police that if they lock me up tonight, a movie will be made!” Everyone has to eat!’ Meatball, 21, told her 181,000 followers.
But she cried when officials booked her and her grandmother spoke of her shame after helping raise her.
What goes through my mind as a grandmother is that I am very ashamed,” Vashti Fields told FOX 29.
Security camera footage captures the moment one of them comes across the heavy safe in a back office
They called for backup after lifting the safe from the building and a white SUV helped them escape with their loot
Some were masked and others didn’t bother as they scouted their target
The Dunkin store on North 52nd Street was dark and deserted when approached by looters in the early hours of Wednesday morning
‘I am very ashamed to see my child there at that moment. First of all, she could have gotten hurt,” she added.
“When I see someone of my blood, who was there while this was happening, and he says he is an influencer, it hurts me deeply.”
Blackwell’s attorney Jessica Mann has labeled the reporting an “all-out attack on black and brown people as their character and actions are mercilessly vilified.”
But her client is due in court on October 17 to face charges of burglary, conspiracy, criminal trespass, riot, criminal mischief, criminal use of communications facilities, receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct.
“This individual at some point incited many other individuals to coordinate what we know is a caravan of individuals going through the city and reaching multiple locations,” ADA Orem said yesterday.
More than a dozen looters forced their way into the Apple Store on Walnut Street, stealing high-spec devices, only to find them disabled
Police officers did their best to control the violence and detained suspects outside the Lulemon store in the city center
The aftermath of an attack on one of at least eighteen liquor stores looted during the violence
Footage shared on social media shows a large group storming the city’s Apple Store, looting
Eighteen state liquor stores were burglarized, prompting the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to close all 48 retail locations in Philadelphia and one in the suburb of Cheltenham on Wednesday.
More footage on social media showed officers attempting to physically remove the thieves, some of whom wore Halloween masks, as they plundered the shelves.
Several firearms were also seized during the violent looting scene after it was suspected that the planning for the incident took place on social media.
“We were able to connect some things together on social media,” said interim Police Commissioner John Stanford.
“We had a group that worked its way through the city. Of course you’re going to have followers who are going to see this and come out and think they have a chance to get something.”
Benjamin Nochum, the pharmacist and store manager at Patriot Pharmacy on North 22nd Street, said it was the third time since 2020 that his business has been affected.
“When looters steal from us, they don’t seem to understand that they are also stealing from our neighbors,” he added.
“You wonder how much longer you can hold on.”