Task force created to investigate looting incidents across city, sources say

PHILADELPHIA - The Girard Avenue Pharmacy is a local shop serving the community just off of Broad Street in North Philadelphia. Early last Tuesday morning, looters broke in and cleared the building.

Barbara Ashford, a longtime customer, is disgusted by what happened.

“He helps everyone in the community. For somebody to do this to him, I know its people that know him,” said Ashford.

Surveillance video shows more than 15 looters entering the pharmacy around 2 a.m. that morning. Police say that they stole just about every medication of any value they could find, The owner also says that they also made off with a 300-pound safe that was loaded with opioids and other prescription drugs.

“You’re putting them in the hands of someone who could harm themselves and simultaneously depriving the good people who need that medication,” Philadelphia Police Inspector Sekou Kinebrew

Police sources say that over 100 different pharmacies have been hit during last week’s lootings following the protests over the murder of George Floyd with more than 650 incidents of looting reported citywide. So far, 360 arrests have been made.

According to sources, a new looting task force of detectives is trying to track down the opportunistic thieves and police are scanning dozens of videos from bystanders, news stations and surveillance cameras trying to identify the suspected looters.

The FBI is also investigating the different pharmacy break-ins in the city as well as the looting of some local banks.The Philadelphia police are asking if you have any information to report it and the detectives will be able to handle it from there.

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