Philly Protestors Clash With Police After Mentally Ill Black Man Was Killed

A police-involved shooting in Philadelphia on Monday (October 26) has reignited protests in the City of Brotherly Love. According to multiple reports, it was during the afternoon hours when police shot and killed a man, later identified as 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr., who was said to be carrying a knife. Some reports state that Wallace wasn't charging the officers and had a mental illness. His mother was reportedly on the scene and was screaming at the officers not to hurt him as she followed him in the street. Her son was shot in front of her.

"Responding officers witnessed a male on the block. Immediately they noticed he had a knife in his possession and he was brandishing it, and waiving it erratically," said Philadelphia Police Sergeant Eric Gripp, according to CBS News. "Upon being struck the male immediately dropped the knife and was scooped up by one of the discharging officers who took him into his police car, drove him over to Presbyterian Hospital where unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries."

Cellphone footage of the incident has been shared online, although it seems that recording began just before Wallace was killed. What occurred prior to officers arriving wasn't documented by bystanders. Protestors immediately gathered together at the location of the incident and this evening, many have taken to the streets. An unoccupied police van was torched and the increasing protests are being documented online. There are social media users listening to police scanners, stating that police don't have the manpower to go up against residents. Videos of officers in riot gear have been shared and in the clips, people are seen throwing items at the responders. Check out a few posts about the death of Walter Wallace Jr. below.

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