Rioters in Minneapolis broke windows, set a dumpster on fire and looted local businesses Thursday night after a police officer shot and killed a suspect who was wanted for unlawful possession of a firearm, according to reports.
The suspect, who was also reportedly a murder suspect, refused to follow commands from the U.S. Marshal Service taskforce, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis. The suspect pulled out a gun during the attempted arrest in a parking garage.
The officers then shot at the suspect, the report says. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
No Minneapolis police officers were involved, according to Reuters.
Following the shooting, a few dozen protesters reportedly gathered around a dumpster near the scene as it melted into a “puddle of fire,” according to KSTP-TV, tossing items into the dumpster to keep it burning while chanting anti-police slogans.
At 9:15ish law enforcement cleared the scene — community members walked and chanted behind them as they left. pic.twitter.com/jj0pJeuHV3
— Ben Henry (@BenryNews) June 4, 2021
While police reportedly did not respond to the fire until 40 minutes after it was lit, firefighters eventually extinguished the flames.
Late into the night, a handful of rioters smashed windows of businesses and looted at least two stores, according to Rebecca Brannon, a local independent photojournalist.
CVS off Lake Street was broken into and looted. Currently someone has arrived to board up the shattered windows.
Police were able to arrive on scene before looters did more damage.#MinneapolisAtNight pic.twitter.com/549g0hOSMi
— Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) June 4, 2021
Police were traveling from business to business to prevent looting, she said.
Meanwhile, rioters vandalized a building near the shooting scene with anti-police graffiti that said “Kill cops” and “No trial for them.”
LA Fitness on Lake & Girard. #Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/9SwRiGMYAt
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 (@TCReporter) June 4, 2021
Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters and arrested a number of rioters, Brannon reported.
The unrest comes a little more than a year after George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer set off months of unrest in cities nationwide. Former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April.
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