As violent protests and widespread looting continue to rock Philadelphia following the shooting and killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a video has emerged that shows hundreds of looters entering a small store and ransacking it in less than a minute. The shocking video shows looters leaving nothing inside the store after they break open the doors.
The rampant looting captured by a security came that occurred at a small clothing store on Tuesday night has not left everyone stunned but also has made owners to consider closing down the store permanently following the massive loss. Like many small businesses that survived the difficulties amid the pandemic, the store owner's back is against the wall yet again following the looting.
Gone in 60 Seconds
The 53-second video shows scores of looters breaking open the doors and entering La'vanter Boutique, a small clothing store in North Philadelphia and ransacking it in seconds on Tuesday around 4 am. The incident was captured by a security camera that was uploaded by the store's co-owner Jameelah Scurry, who runs the business with her brother Jamil.
The video since then has gone viral. The video shows two women first entering the store and then tearing t-shirts and handbags displayed on the racks. "Bro, grab what you want," one woman is heard saying. They are then joined by a dozen other people who start grabbing whatever they can. Soon more join them in the act.
While some start vandalizing the store the others continue to loot. One of the looters can be seen with a huge green sack. Without even hesitating, he stars grabbing and filling the sack with women's clothes.
Owner Shattered
Philadelphia has been witnessing undressing since Monday following the death of a black man Walter Wallace Jr. who was shot and killed by police. The incident was captured on a mobile phone camera following which protesters hit the streets. Taking opportunity of the situation, many have been on a looting spree that has particularly hit hard small businesses.
Looters were seen in a series of videos trashing Philadelphia stores Tuesday night — with one even blithely wheeling out a large washing machine. Scurry has been contemplating closing down the business permanently after suffering the massive loss on Tuesday night. "A terrible day for us," Scurry wrote on the caption of the video. "The day we had everything taken from us in less than a minute."
In an interview to the New York Post she said that she and her brother, a former police officer, left their jobs to build the store but now is left with nothing. Scurry urged looters to consider who they're hurting when they loot small businesses in the community.
In a last ditch effort to save the business, Scurry took to GoFundMe to try to raise some cash. She was aiming to raise $15,000. As of Thursday evening, she had raised more than $27,600 from hundreds of strangers who posted outpourings of support on the site.
