The city of Philadelphia suffered a second night of riots after police shot and killed a suspect attacking them with a knife. 30 officers were hurt Monday night with one officer in critical condition.
The Pennsylvania National Guard has been deployed to the city.
According to Fox News, the suspect, Walter Wallace Jr. was an aspiring rapper that rapped about shooting police as well as about police injustice.
Wallace also had an extensive criminal history and was awaiting trial for allegedly threatening to shoot a woman, according to media reports.
Court records obtained also show Wallace was a convicted felon. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to robbery, assault and possessing an instrument of crime, according to documents obtained by Fox News.
Authorities said he kicked down the door of another woman and put a gun to her head.
He was sentenced to 11 months to 23 months in jail. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and punching an officer in the face.
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It was not clear if the two officers who shot Wallace knew him, his mental health struggles or his past, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Tuesday.
“There are several questions that need to be answered… including what the officers knew when they responded, what was put out by radio and how any previous contact with Mr. Wallace factored into yesterday,” she said during a virtual news conference.
Authorities said Wallace was armed with a knife and ignored commands to drop it when he was shot Monday afternoon. The two officers fired at least seven rounds apiece. It was not clear how many times Wallace was hit. The incident was captured on video and posted on social media by witnesses.
A relative previously told Fox News that Wallace had struggled with mental health issues and was bipolar. He was previously ordered by a judge to undergo psychiatric evaluation treatment, the news station reported.
“They were advised that he had mental health issues,” Anthony Fitzhugh, Wallace’s cousin, told the Inquirer. “I understand he had a knife, and their job is to protect and serve,” Fitzhugh said. “By all means do so, but do not let lethal force be the means by which you de-escalate the situation. You could have still kept your gun drawn while another officer tased him.
The names of the two officers involved in the shooting have not yet been released.
