George Floyd riots: looting in Minneapolis following protests over death of unarmed black man
28 May 2020, 15:46
Wheelchair bound woman attacked trying to stop looters after allegedly stabbing them
Looting has broken out in Minneapolis following protests over the death of a black man who died after being knelt on by a police officer.
Dramatic footage showed protesters looting stores Target, AutoZone, and Dollar Tree. The stores are located near a police station and the rioters then moved on to attack the station itself.
The US city has seen two nights of violence after video emerged of a police officer kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed black man, George Floyd, during an arrest.
Mr Floyd says in the video saying he could not breathe and then eventually stops moving.
This incident caused widespread demonstrations, fires and looting with State Governor Tim Walz calling it an "extremely dangerous situation".
This is awful out here. No police. Looting continues pic.twitter.com/087TpNWhPV
— Karen Scullin FOX9 (@kscullinfox9) May 27, 2020
Things have deteriorated in Minneapolis. The target has been completely trashed and looted. Portions of the Cub store is also trashed . This is following the protest against Minneapolis Police pic.twitter.com/xSQ62cRajz
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) May 28, 2020
During the looting of Target, an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman reportedly tried to stop people ransacking the store while allegedly brandishing a knife.
She was then punched in the head and sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
The woman claimed she was "peacefully protesting" to stop people looting the store, according to reports.
Other accounts claimed she was not disabled and got out her wheelchair to attack looters.
Minneapolis Target looted as protests turn more violent
Protesters are looting Target, AutoZone, and Dollar Tree across the street from this police precinct.
— Michael James Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) May 28, 2020
They are now also attacking the Precinct itself.pic.twitter.com/aKLiM7mibi
The mayor of Minneapolis has called for criminal charges to be filed against the white police officer seen on video kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed black man during an arrest, even after the man said he could not breathe and stopped moving.
Based on the video, mayor Jacob Frey said he believes officer Derek Chauvin should be charged over the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin and three other officers were fired on Tuesday. The video recorded by a bystander shows Chauvin with his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for several minutes as Mr Floyd is on the ground with his face against the pavement.
"I've wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?" said Mr Frey, who is white.
He later added: "I saw no threat. I saw nothing that would signal that this kind of force was necessary."
