How many §6108 open‑carry arrests did Philadelphia police and the District Attorney’s Office file in the 12 months after June 2025?

1. The legal turning point and the arrest that propelled it

The factual centerpiece in the reporting is the arrest and conviction of Riyadh (also reported as Riyaadh/Riyadh) Sumpter for openly carrying a holstered handgun in Philadelphia without a license, culminating in the Superior Court’s June 23, 2025 opinion vacating his §6108 conviction and applying strict scrutiny under an equal‑protection frame ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. What §6108 is and why Philadelphia is unique

Section 6108 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code prohibits carrying a firearm on Philadelphia public streets without a license because it applies to “cities of the first class” — a designation that, in practice, means Philadelphia is treated differently than the rest of the Commonwealth where open carry by adults 18+ is generally lawful ^{[2] [4] [5]}.

3. Reactions and the political/legal split in coverage

Gun‑rights groups hailed the Superior Court’s ruling as a broad victory and urged repeal of §6108, while local legal commentary noted the court’s narrow posture—vacating Sumpter’s conviction and highlighting equal‑protection concerns without resolving all overlaps with other statutes such as §6106 for concealed carry ^{[1] [6] [7]}. News outlets and law firms covering the decision emphasize its immediate impact on Sumpter and the likelihood of further litigation or legislative fixes, but do not assert statewide automatic changes absent legislative action or higher court review ^{[8] [9]}.

4. What the reporting does — and does not — tell readers about arrest numbers

None of the provided sources report a tally of §6108 arrests filed by Philadelphia police or prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office during the 12 months after June 2025; the coverage centers on the Sumpter litigation, the legal reasoning, and commentary from advocates and lawyers ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Because the question asks for a discrete arrest count for a defined 12‑month window after June 2025, the reporting here cannot directly answer it; the absence of a reported aggregate or calendarized arrest total in these sources is itself the only verifiable fact on that point from this packet ^{[1] [2]}.

5. Where the precise number would come from and likely next steps for verification

To obtain the exact number, authoritative records would be required: Philadelphia Police Department arrest logs filtered for charges under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6108 and charging records or filing statistics from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for the 12‑month period beginning June 24, 2025; court docket databases (Common Pleas criminal dockets) could corroborate filings and dispositions (not available in the supplied sources). The supplied materials indicate legislative interest in repealing or amending §6108 and public statements from stakeholders, but do not substitute for the raw administrative or court data needed to produce a definitive arrest count ^{[10] [11]}.

6. Bottom line for readers seeking the numeric answer

The documents and news items provided confirm the Superior Court’s vacatur of Sumpter’s §6108 conviction and explain the statute’s unique application to Philadelphia, yet they do not include or cite a compiled count of §6108 arrests filed by Philadelphia police and the DA in the 12 months after June 2025; therefore, a precise numeric answer cannot be drawn from this reporting alone ^{[1] [2]}. Obtaining that number requires querying PPD arrest records, DA filing statistics, or court dockets for that specific 12‑month window — steps beyond the scope of the present sources.