Groups of thieves, who were apparently working together, broke into and burglarized a string of businesses in Northeast Philadelphia – smashing the doors of about half a dozen shops, including a small beauty supply store and a Walgreens.
Philadelphia police arrested 49 adults and three juveniles who face criminal charges, including burglary, theft and other counts, said the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.
Where is the love, Philadelphia?
At around 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 27, a surveillance video caught about 10 people wearing gloves, hoodies and surgical masks gathered in the parking lot at Nat's Beauty Supply in Mayfair. They smashed the glass front door using what appeared to be a bat, ducked inside and within minutes were running out with armfuls of merchandise.
Store security footage obtained by CBS News showed a group of people, mostly women, indiscriminately clearing out dozens of hair extensions, weaves, wigs and other products off the store shelves. One of the women was wielding a tire iron.
Shaking and on the verge of tears, owner Claudia Silmeas rushed over at about 1:00 a.m. to her small business – her first store and her "one and only source of income," which she said, just opened five months ago.
Silmeas found the shelves of her most expensive products – with items she had just restocked that cost as much as $135 a bundle – nearly bare. She spent much of Thursday cleaning and estimated she lost "thousands of dollars" after counting the lost inventory.
The Department of License & Inspections boarded up the broken front door while a representative from the city's Department of Commerce was on hand to help as well – explaining assistance programs throughout the morning and early afternoon Thursday. Neighbors also offered to help clean up and donate money.
Nathan Kriegler, co-owner of City Motors of Philadelphia across the street from Nat's Beauty Supply, said: "We pulled up, we saw the store, the door was smashed in, the TV was ripped off the wall, the doors were kicked in."
He’s out some $300,000 from seven cars missing from his lot, including electronics, keys and titles.
"The business had not even officially opened for operations. Hopefully, we get the cars back. This is going to be a speed bump and we’re going to keep moving forward," Kriegler said.
Thieves reportedly threw large bricks to gain entry through the front door of Art History 101 Clothing in the Greater Philadelphia Area (widely known for its one-of-a-kind hand-painted original t-shirts) and then fled with the cash register and almost all of the handmade merchandise off the shelves (custom-made hats, hoodies and shirts) – leaving only the art pieces hanging on the walls.
Jay Pross, owner-CEO and senior fashion designer of the globally recognized clothing line, said he wasn't sure how much money he'd lost as he swept the shattered glass alongside his four-year-old son.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), which oversees the state's liquor stores, indefinitely closed all Philadelphia Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations in an effort to curb the looting after 18 stores were attacked.
No employees were hurt, but "some were understandably shaken," said liquor board spokesperson Shawn Kelly.
Shocking footage also showed brazen thieves ransacking and smashing apart the Fine Wine & Good Spirits on Adams Avenue in Olnes. The looters also raided the store's safe and lottery machine.
Among those arrested was Dayjia "Meatball" Blackwell after she posted a video of the Apple, Lululemon and Footlocker stores being broken into and ransacked before she went and joined the mob stealing from the liquor store.
The social media personality was charged with burglary, conspiracy, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, criminal use of a communication facility, disorderly conduct, receipt of stolen property and riot.
Daily Mail reported on a video posted online which showed a mob of outraged looters after discovering Apple had disabled the products they stole from their store on the 1600 block of Walnut Street during a second night of looting.
The posted footage showed the moment alarms on their stolen Apple devices blare in unison and enraged looters poured a juice-like liquid onto the disabled merchandise thrown on the street.
Steve Keeley of Fox29, who originally reported the thefts, later posted footage showing the aftermath of the looting. A source told the reporter, "It may be a Snipes warehouse."
The Philadelphia Police Department said nearly 80 incidents of mass "coordinated" looting happened across the city Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Among the other shops hit were GameStop, Mayfair Business Improvement District, a medical marijuana dispensary and sporting goods stores.
Photos of a sporting goods store at a mall showed mannequins and sneakers scattered on the sidewalk.
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Watch the following video about the mass looting spree rocking Philadelphia.
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