MAJOR chains including Apple and Lululemon have been targeted by looters as shoplifting spree left Philadelphia reeling.
Crowds of up to 100 people swarmed stores in the city center on Tuesday night, ransacking outlets before trying to flee with stolen items.
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Shocking footage, obtained by the NBC affiliate WCAU, showed packs of youngsters looting an Apple store.
Chains including Lululemon, Foot Locker, and Walmart were also targeted by looters.
Up to 20 people have been arrested and two guns were recovered at the scene, according to cops.
John Stanford, the Interim Police Commander, said: “What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation to make an attempt to destroy our city.”
He added: “What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists.”
Cops suspect there was a so-called caravan of vehicles that were going from store to store.
Footage, obtained by the local Fox affiliate WTXF, showed iPhones and iPads strewn across tables as the tech store was ransacked.
Cops said they recovered iPhones and a “pile of iPads” at one location, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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But thieves couldn’t take the gadgets away because of the store’s anti-theft technology.
Shocking pictures from inside sports shops showed sneakers and clothes strewn across the floors and displays ransacked.
Teens fled the Foot Locker and Lululemon outlets with bundles of clothes before some were tackled to the ground by cops.
Cops believe the shoplifting spree on the Foot Locker was a “coordinated attack.”
Witnesses have since spoken out about the horror that unfolded on the streets of Philadelphia.
One woman told the ABC affiliate WPVI: “I saw a bunch of people like go into the Lululemon, clothes everywhere.”
A security guard was allegedly assaulted at the Foot Locker outlet, per CBS.
Dozens of people also broke into a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store.
Stanford branded the looting spree “disgusting” and raged: “Our city can’t afford this nonsense.”
Police said: “We will continue to make arrests until we have all the individuals … that have been responsible for what we see tonight in custody.”
The looting spree hit after a judge dismissed murder charges against a cop who shot and killed a driver through a window.
Murder charges against Mark Dial were dropped, sparking a wave of protests.
Dial shot Eddie Irizarry and fired several rounds. His lawyers claimed that he was acting in self-defense.
Looters ransacked stores just hours after Target chiefs announced that the company would be closing nine stores.
One location in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood will close, alongside three in San Francisco, two in Seattle, and three more in Portland, Oregon.
Bosses warned: “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.
“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.”
Target CEO Brian Cornell has blasted organized crime rings and warned retail shrinkage is a $500million problem annually.
Target stores have seen a whopping 120 percent increase in theft incidents involving violence or threats of violence in just the first five months of 2023.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/9188384/looting-philadelphia-apple-foot-locker-stores/