Family Of Walter Wallace Jr., Philly Leaders Desperately Pleading For People To Stop 'Burning Our City Down'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The family of Walter Wallace Jr. is calling for calm, saying the unrest is not something he would have wanted. This latest call for an end to the unrest comes as Philadelphia officials have issued a 9 p.m. citywide curfew.
"To send an SOS out to tell people to stop this looting and stop burning our city down," Walter Wallace Sr. said.
A desperate plea for peace in the midst of a nation watching growing unrest in Philadelphia. Walter Wallace Sr. appeared on CNN late Tuesday night hoping to quell the violence and looting sparked by his son's shooting death by police.
"Looting stores, burning, I mean, this is where we live, and that's the only community resource we have. If we take all of the resources and burn it down, we don't have anything," he said.
Wallace Jr. was shot and killed by two Philadelphia officers as he was wielding a knife Monday afternoon, in the 6100 block of Locust Street in West Philadelphia.
The family says he suffered from mental illness and was on medication and under a doctor's care.
Calls for calm are also coming from clergy, city leaders and community activists. Rev. Mark Tyler, Pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, is part of an interfaith group of leaders in Philadelphia calling for more police oversight.
He has been with the Wallace family offering solace at a time of overwhelming grief.
"They are a calling for peace, but they don't believe looting reflects what they're after. They want justice for their son, obviously, but they want to get it through channels that don't disrupt the lives of other people," he said.
"We deserve respect and as the public and anybody to have respect for our families, to pray for us," Wallace Sr. said.
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