George Floyd Protest Turns Deadly; Minneapolis Mayor Requests National Guard

The mayor of Minneapolis asked the state National Guard to move in after protests over the death of George Floyd escalated Wednesday night with a fatal shooting, widespread looting, fires and the police deployment of tear gas.

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The second night of demonstrations near the site of Floyd’s death began peacefully but grew violent as the night went on. Gov. Tim Walz late Wednesday called it an “extremely dangerous situation” and urged residents to leave the area.

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One person was in custody in the shooting death near the site of the protests, police said. Officers responded to a report of a stabbing at 9:05 p.m. and found a man who wasn’t breathing lying on the sidewalk, police said in a statement Thursday morning.

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Multiple fires were reported, and several businesses were looted. {snip}

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A reporter for NBC affiliate KARE11 of Minneapolis who was livestreaming the protest reported that an AutoZone and Target had been looted. A Cub Foods and a Dollar Tree also showed signs of damage and looting.

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Protesters set other fires in the street.

Early Thursday, a reporter from The Minneapolis Star Tribune tweeted images of a housing complex construction site that appeared fully engulfed in flames and video of a liquor store that was trashed with shattered glass and boxes littering the sidewalk.

Elder, the police spokesman, confirmed “a large fire from an apartment building that is under construction” but he did not have a count of how many fires were burning early Thursday.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told the local FOX 9 TV station that he ordered the use of tear gas after violence and looting. {snip}

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Protesters also gathered Wednesday evening at the suburban home of the officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck as well as the Minneapolis home of Mike Freeman, the Hennepin County prosecutor who would make a charging decision in the case. {snip}

Hundreds of protesters also gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, NBC Los Angeles reported. At times, the demonstrators blocked traffic on the 101 freeway.

Some surrounded two California Highway Patrol vehicles and damaged them.

CHP said when it attempted to disperse a crowd on the freeway, “they were immediately surrounded” and someone broke the rear window of a patrol car with a skateboard.

A CHP officer tried to leave, and a protester jumped on the car’s hood before jumping off into the roadway, officials said. That person is said to have suffered moderate injuries.

A second CHP patrol vehicle stopped to help that man but that vehicle was also surrounded and had its rear window shattered and that officer also left, the CHP said.

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Video of Floyd’s death has sparked outrage, including from the apparent Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, who tweeted about it on Tuesday and on Wednesday called it a “tragic reminder that this was not an isolated incident, but a part of an ingrained systemic cycle of injustice that still exists in this country.”

President Donald Trump also weighed in on Wednesday. “My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!” he tweeted.

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