People in South Florida were also affected. Looting is widespread throughout Philadelphia. More than 50 people were arrested as a result, and police presence increased across the city.
Thousands of miles away in Miami Beach, all John Kim could do was watch the news and scroll through the photos his mother had sent him.
“Oh, I was devastated,” Kim said.
Crowds stormed multiple stores across Philadelphia Tuesday night during peaceful protests following a judge’s decision to drop murder charges against a former police officer who shot and killed a 27-year-old man during a traffic stop last month. looted and damaged property.
Kim said one of those stores belonged to her father.
“It’s about all the other small businesses you’ve never heard of that are all over town that no one really talks about, that may have gone out of business,” Kim said.
Kim’s father has owned a small smoke shop in Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood for more than 10 years, which is his only source of income. When he saw the damage on the outside and the destruction on the inside of his business, he felt helpless because he was thousands of miles away.
“Oh my god, my parents, their jobs, their livelihoods,” Kim said.
He said his parents were forced to stand guard in front of the store all day Wednesday morning while doing repairs.
“My father’s business was already struggling, so this is just another big obstacle they have to find a way to overcome,” Kim said.
Kim says it’s a familiar image. A few years ago, during a protest in Philadelphia, a crowd vandalized and looted her mother’s store.
Kim is now trying to help her family from thousands of miles away. he, gofundme To help pay for damages.
