Trump ready to help Philly police after 30 officers injured in riots: White House

President Trump is prepared to order federal intervention in Philadelphia after rioting erupted over a police shooting of a Black man wielding a knife, White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah said Tuesday.

Hundreds of people took to the streets Monday to protest the police-involved fatal shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace. Violent clashes with police ensued, leaving 30 officers injured including one whose leg was broken when he was run over by a pickup truck.

“President Trump will not tolerate any violence directed at America’s law enforcement,” Ms. Farah said on Fox News. “This President has made clear before whether it was in Seattle or Portland or others were prepared to deploy federal law enforcement as necessary.”

She said the Trump administration was not drawing conclusions about what happened in the police-involved shootings but, at this point, was addressing the rioting.

“We’re going to let the facts play out [and] let the investigation play out, but we will not tolerate lawlessness in our streets,” said Ms. Farah.

City officials in Portland and Seattle blamed the presence of federal law enforcement officers for provoking more violence but Mr. Trump hailed the federal intervention as a success.

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