Brazen thieves have been caught on video running from Footlocker, Apple and Lululemon with arms full of merchandise as Philadelphia police struggle to grab the looters. 

Videos shared on social media shows police officers attempting to grab lotters, some of who are wearing Halloween masks, as they run from a Lululemon store carrying goods.

Numerous bikes and piles of merchandise can be seen piled up on the sidewalk outside the clothing store on Walnut Street in the heart of the city. 

ABC reported that police had detained individuals ranged from teenagers to young adults, and recovered one weapon from the scene. 

It has also been reported that there have been numerous shots fired during the looting in the downtown area.

Thieves also descended on a nearby Foot Locker store and Apple Store, with CBS News reporting that the security guard at the footwear store was assaulted. 

In another video of the store being ransacked, a large number of thieves can be seen rifling through the store.

Footage from the Apple store shows the aftermath of the looting, with iPhones and other electronic goods seemingly ripped from their display stands. 

What appears to be staff members can be seen standing around looking bemused.

Fox News reporter Steve Keeley also shared footage showing the fallout of the looting. 

Officers can be seen placing handcuffs on one man, as they guard the exterior of the store. 

Numerous people can be heard shouting in the background as he is led to the rear of a police van. 

Another shot of looters outside the Lululemon store shows a large number of thieves making their escape. 

Numerous officers quickly arrive on the scene and can be seen pinning several men down. 

A police officer also told NBC Philadelphia that over 100 juveniles had looted the Lululemon store.  

CBS3 said that multiple police commanders confirmed to them that the looting had no connection to earlier BLM demonstrations.

Protests had started round the city earlier in the day over the dismissal of charges against police officer Eddie Irizarry who was involved in a fatal shooting.  

Hugh E. Dillon also shared a video showing the police response to his social media page. 

Dillon wrote: ‘Stay out of center city: Kids looted Apple Store , Lululemon and Chestnut street I hear footlocker has been broken into.

‘The police are doing an incredible effort on bikes and in cars corralling the kids blocked by Block. They are pulling cars over a lot of kids are in cars. 

‘They stop and a whole bunch of them get out and then they start trying to break in the stores. But the police are on top of it.’ 

Security guard at a nearby Wendy’s, Hakeem Russel told NBC that the store next to the fast food restaurant had been broken into, with a guard assaulted. 

Russel told the outlet: ‘A couple a kids decided they wanted to take full advantage of the unjust shooting that’s happened. 

‘It’s definitely been unrest around here since the verdict.’

Another video shows what appears to be a liquor store in the city, with one woman filming the scene shouting: ‘Everybody must eat, everybody must eat.’

Officers have now blocked off several streets in the area with crime scene tape due to the robberies. 

ABC reported that police had detained individuals ranged from teenagers to young adults, and recovered one weapon.  

DailyMail.com has approached the Philadelphia Police Department for comment on the situation. 

Just three weeks ago, the Philadelphia Police Commissioner resigned from her post as the Democratic run city dealt with a wave of homicides and lawlessness. 

Danielle Outlaw, 48, who has been Philly’s top cop since February 2020, officially left the department on September 22. 

Outlaw’s new role will be the Deputy Chief Security Officer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where she will oversee the airports, bridges, tunnels and other transportation infrastructure in the New York City area.

Before she took office, Philadelphia saw less than 400 homicides each year since 2007. Both 2021 and 2022 have seen more than 500 homicides across the city.

Latest figures, which are up until last Sunday, show how there has been 302 homicides in the city so far this year. 

There has also been 402 reported rapes, 58,759 cases of property crime, 3,701 cases of aggravated assaults and 1,314 shooting victims.