The Minneapolis protest against the police over the death of George Floyd just keeps getting hotter. With smashed windows of storefronts housing local charter schools and other tenants in a local commercial district, we can say this intended peaceful protest has taken a left turn.
George Floyd, 36, died as a victim of police brutality – after one officer had handcuffed him and one officer kneeling on his neck. The incident, which was filmed, has drawn national outrage. A national issue, President Donald Trump on Wednesday, called for an investigation by the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Minneapolis protest started out peacefully but turned violent. According to reports, some people began looting local stores; stealing, and destroying properties. Allegedly, one person was fatally shot in the area where the protest was taking place late Wednesday. Speculations are he was shot by a 59-year-old pawnshop owner who said the person was looting his business.
Firefighters have been really “tested” during this Minneapolis protest. Racing from one blaze, running to another; often with police in tow for crowd control. A great example; after firefighters worked to douse a fire started at an AutoZone store at Minnehaha and Lake, within a matter of hours, the store was ablaze again. This was the same fate a half-built affordable housing development faced. It was set on fire, sending flames more than a hundred feet into the air.
Most of the violence came from a large crowd that gathered outside Minneapolis’ Third Precinct police headquarters. They were throwing objects at the building and officers; turning more violent as the night wore on. Police deployed rubber bullets, flash bombs and tear gas in a bid to push them back.
During the Minneapolis protest, rioters were seen leaving the Lake Street Target store with items they had looted. Items ranging from large TVs to groceries and diapers. Rioters were seen gripping baseball bats and gulf clubs bashing windows of stores; no business was spared.
An emotional Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has come put to plead with the people to stop the Minneapolis protest. “Please, please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy. The activity around Lake and Hiawatha is now unsafe. Please, help us keep the peace.” He continued in his statement; “I understand the anger and pain, and we need the public’s help in keeping the peace tonight. We need that in order to get through this together. I love our city. I know our residents do too, and we need to be doing everything possible to not have one tragedy beget more.”
Here is a gallery of some images from the Minneapolis protest;
