Philadelphia faces 8th night of mandatory curfew

PHILADELPHIA — This will be the 8th night in a row that Philadelphia residents face a mandatory curfew amid protests regarding justice George Floyd.

Tonight’s curfew in Philadelphia will be from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Residents are only permitted to leave their home if they need medical attention, help from police, or work at an essential business.

Philadelphia law enforcement and the National Guard will be on duty to assist the Philadelphia police.

The main protest for today is scheduled for sometime at the Philadelphia Art Museum. CBS Local reports there are already hundreds on the scene, but they expect to see thousands of protesters arrive throughout the day and evening. Several roads will be closed surrounding the area.

Philadelphia has not been hit as hard in terms of rioting behavior, but there are still concerns looming whenever a massive protest takes place.

Danielle Outlaw, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, had stated, “this isn’t a typical type of theft that you would see. We know, just from Saturday and Sunday, that there’s explosives being used to access either ATMs or fires being set off around the city of various buildings and vehicles, is most certainly of concern.”

She’s referring to canisters, which could be used for gas or oxygen, that were stolen earlier in the week. There’s currently a $10,000 reward for information leading to the three suspects who allegedly stole them from the Frankford section of Philadelphia.

As stated on 6ABC, “According to Philadelphia police, three men in hooded sweatshirts with masks and gloves cut through the fence of a commercial business on the 2300 block of Church Street around 9 a.m. Thursday. They got away with 19 large acetylene and oxygen gas canisters. The gases are typically used for welding, but police say can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.”

Outlaw is concerned that these containers could be used for something with bad intent during protests, or at any time.