The federal government is investigating the fatal officer-involved shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.
While authorities are looking into the case, Trump criticized leaders in Philadelphia for what he described as “allowing” rioters and looters to run rampant in the city. Trump went on to urge the city to call in the national guard, which Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe has already done. (RELATED: Mississippi Police Arrest Suspect In McDonald’s Drive-Thru Shooting That Left One Dead)
Trump said that the federal government is looking at the killing of Walter Wallace in Philadelphia, but he condemned the riots and looting that have followed.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) October 28, 2020
“The mayor or whoever it is that’s allowing people to riot and loot, and not stop them, is just a horrible thing,” Trump said.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) October 28, 2020
Footage from Daily Caller reporters on the ground in Philadelphia shows local police being overwhelmed by rioters and looters as unrest spread across the city this week.
Big crowd gathering at Malcolm X park in West Philly this evening following Monday’s police-involved shooting/death of Walter Wallace Jr. pic.twitter.com/0oNgYB1jUB
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) October 27, 2020
Officers fatally shot Wallace on Monday. Video evidence shows Wallace was armed with a knife at the time, which police say he repeatedly refused to drop. At least one witness has said they didn’t hear police ordering Wallace to drop the knife. Witnesses confirmed that Wallace was armed but have said he never charged at police.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office opened its own investigation into the shooting soon afterward. It is unclear whether the FBI will open its own formal investigation.
“We intend to go where the facts and law lead us and to do so carefully, without rushing to judgment and without bias of any kind,” the DA office’s statement read. “In the hours and days following this shooting, we ask Philadelphians to come together to uphold people’s freedom to express themselves peacefully and to reject violence of any kind.”