30 Philadelphia officers injured, one run over by truck, in protests after police fatally shoot Black man

Police in Philadelphia said 30 officers were injured during violent protests Monday night that broke out after police shot and killed a 27-year-old Black man who authorities said had a knife.

More than 300 people marched through the streets of Philadelphia late Monday into early Tuesday to protest the shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr. which was captured on video. Dozens of officers were injured with rocks, bricks and other projectiles and a 56-year-old female officer was hit by a pickup truck and hospitalized with a broken leg, WCAU-TV reported.

A police car was set on fire and officers used batons to push crowds back, according to video shared on social media. The crowd then largely dispersed.

Several businesses were looted and more than 30 people were arrested on charges including looting, rioting, and assaulting officers, KYW-TV reported.

The protest comes after months of demonstrations against police violence and racial injustice in the city and across the country that broke out in May when George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

The shooting occurred before 4 p.m.Monday as officers responded to a report of a person with a weapon, police spokesperson Tanya Little said.

Officers were called to Cobbs Creek, a predominantly Black neighborhood in west Philadelphia. They encountered the man, later identified as Wallace, who was holding a knife, Little said. Officers ordered Wallace to drop the knife, but he instead “advanced towards” them. Both officers then fired “several times,” Little said.

Wallace was hit in the shoulder and chest. One of the officers then put him in a police vehicle and drove him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, Little said.