All Fine Wine & Good Spirits liquor stores are set to close Wednesday in Philadelphia after Tuesday night’s mass looting where 18 different store locations were broken into, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Tuesday’s mob looting happened when a few of the stores were still open, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The affected businesses were not just confined to the liquor industry. A Foot Locker, Apple Store, and Lululemon were beset by a mob of juveniles, The Messenger News reported. (RELATED: One Stabbed After Hundreds Of Youths Descend On Blue City Mall For Hours-Long Brawl)
All Philadelphia Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, as well as one across the border in Cheltenham Township, will be closed Wednesday after at least 18 locations were broken into on Tuesday night.https://t.co/1bWSviFm1J
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) September 27, 2023
One person, who goes by the online persona of “Meatball,” who filmed the mob and was later arrested said, “Tell the police if they lock me up tonight it’s going to be lit, it’s going to be a movie! Everybody’s gotta eat,” the Daily Mail reported. The looters tried to link their actions to earlier Black Lives Matter protests over a court dismissing a case where police shot an armed black driver, the outlet reported.
“Fortunately, no employees were hurt, although some were understandably shaken,” Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board press secretary Shawn M. Kelly said in a statement, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted. The spokesperson further elaborated that “in the interest of employee safety” and to better assess the damages caused by Tuesday’s looting, some four dozen Fine Wine & Good Spirits across the city would be closed temporarily.