Latest updates: Follow along here for the latest on the shooting and its aftermath
Clean-up efforts are underway in West Philadelphia, the family of Walter Wallace Jr. is questioning why lethal force was used while decrying the violence that occurred overnight, and President Donald Trump says he will send federal troops to Philadelphia “if needed.” Follow along here for the latest.
Recap: Police fatally shoot man, prompting hours of protests in West Philly
Police officers fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation Monday afternoon in West Philadelphia, an incident that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood and sparked a standoff that lasted deep into the night.
Late Monday into early Tuesday, police struggled to respond to vandalism and looting along the commercial corridor of 52nd Street, an area that was the scene of clashes between police and protestors earlier this summer. At least one police vehicle was set on fire Monday night and destroyed, and several police officers were injured by bricks or other objects hurled from the crowd. One officer was hospitalized after getting run over by a speeding truck.
The protests came roughly four months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked widespread demonstrations in Philadelphia and across the country and a national reckoning over racial injustice and police killings of Black people.
Read more of our coverage:
Officer run over by truck
A police officer was run over by a speeding black truck around 12:50 a.m. at 52nd and Walnut Streets and the incident was broadcast on a social-media livestream.
A large group of officers then formed a protective shield around their colleagues as they were hit by rocks.

A few minutes later police said they had stopped a truck that may have been the striking vehicle.
— Robert Moran
Calmer tone on 52nd Street as police largely regain control of corridor
Shortly after 12:30 a.m., more than five hours after protests first began in West Philly, police have largely regained control of the 52nd Street corridor.
The crowds of a few hundred from earlier in the night have mostly dispersed, while a couple dozen protesters still on the scene were engaging in conversations with police.
“Y’all brought a gun to knife fight,” one man said to cops blocking off 52nd and Spruce Streets.
Cops with shields blocked off Walnut Street, while police vans blocked off Pine Street.
— Kelly O’Shea, Samantha Melamed
Police with batons chase protesters

In an attempt to regain control of the scene, more than a dozen cops on foot formed a line as they ran down 52nd Street chasing protesters away from the main thoroughfare. Many cops carried batons in hand.
The crowds along 52nd near Walnut and Locust Streets largely dispersed.
— Anna Orso, Samantha Melamed
Fires, fireworks break out on a crowded 52nd Street
Tensions escalated into the night as protesters continued to march on 52nd Street and the scene turned disorderly.
A cop car was set ablaze at 52nd and Market, while two dumpsters were set on fire at 52nd and Walnut.
One group smashed in the windows of a backhoe parked on 52nd Street in an attempt to steal the large construction equipment. Fireworks broke out over a dumpster that had been set ablaze.
As cops struggled to control the situation, police vans sped through the crowds.
— Samantha Melamed

Cop car on fire on 52nd Street

Neighbors in West Philly reported loud bangs as a cop car set ablaze at 52nd and Chestnut exploded in the streets.
Hours after shooting, heated demonstrations continue in West Philadelphia

A few hundred people marched along 52nd Street protesting the death of Walter Wallace.
At 52nd and Chestnut Streets, dozens of police with batons engaged an increasingly angry crowd that vandalized a police SUV.
Elsewhere along 52nd Street, there were reports of broken windows, dumpsters overturned and security cameras being knocked down.
— Anna Orso, Samantha Melamed
Photos: Police and protesters face off in West Philadelphia



— Jessica Griffin
Protesters stand off with police near precinct
Hours after the shooting, heated encounters between police and protesters are taking place in West Philadelphia near the police precinct at 55th and Pine Streets.
People threw bottles at police as officers with shields pushed back. Several police officers injured by bricks or other objects thrown at them earlier in the night.
— Anna Orso
Hundreds march in West Philly

Walter Wallace’s death prompted hundreds of demonstrators to take to the streets in West Philadelphia, marching and chanting.
Kenney pledges ‘full investigation’
Mayor Jim Kenney issued a statement Monday night, saying: “My prayers are with the family and friends of Walter Wallace. I have watched the video of this tragic incident and it presents difficult questions that must be answered. I spoke tonight with Mr. Wallace’s family, and will continue to reach out to hear their concerns firsthand, and to answer their questions to the extent that I am able.”
The mayor also promised a “full investigation.”
Outlaw also issued a statement: “Residents have my assurance that those questions will be fully addressed by the investigation. While at the scene this evening, I heard and felt the anger of the community. Everyone involved will forever be impacted. I will be leaning on what the investigation gleans to answer the many unanswered questions that exist. I also plan to join the Mayor in meeting with members of the community and members of Mr. Wallace’s family to hear their concerns as soon as it can be scheduled.”
— Robert Moran
Man’s father: ‘Why you have to gun him down?’

Walter Wallace Sr., the man’s father, said his son appeared to have been shot 10 times.
“Why didn’t they use a taser?” Wallace Sr. asked outside a family residence on the block. “His mother was trying to diffuse the situation.”
Wallace Sr. said his son struggled with mental health issues and was on medication. “He has mental issues. Why you have to gun him down?”
— Ellie Rushing
Police fatally shoot a man in West Philly

Police officers fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation Monday afternoon in West Philadelphia that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood.
Shortly before 4 p.m., two officers fired their guns at the man in the 6100 block of Locust Street. Police then transported him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died shortly after.
Family members identified him as Walter Wallace Jr.
Wallace was an undetermined distance from the officers but a video from a bystander showed he appeared to be multiple feet from them when they fired numerous shots. The video depicts Wallace walking toward the officers and police backing away. The video then swings briefly out of view, and in that moment police fire at Wallace.
Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp said officers were called to the block and encountered a man who was holding a knife. Gripp said the officers ordered him to drop the weapon, and he “advanced towards the officers.” Gripp said investigators are reviewing footage of what happened. Both officers were wearing body cameras.
» READ MORE: Police fatally shoot a man in West Philly
— Ellie Rushing, Anna Orso