Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its surrounding neighborhoods erupted in violence Monday, for the second night in a row, following the officer-involved shooting death of Daunte Wright, but reporters cautioned the city’s chief of police not to label the unrest a “riot.”
Local Minneapolis media outlet KSTP reported Tuesday morning that 40 people were arrested overnight, following Minneapolis’ decision to institute a 7 pm curfew to prevent rioting and looting. Sunday night, just after the Wright shooting, nearly two dozen businesses were destroyed and at least one police was officer injured when demonstrations against Brooklyn Center law enforcement turned violent, according to a Daily Wire report,
Tuesday night, the Minnesota National Guard, the Minnesota state police, and local police departments were out, in force, to keep the peace. Corporations like Walgreens and Target ordered Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Brooklyn Center stores closed to prevent looting.
“Police have cleared the area near the Brooklyn Center Police Department after demonstrators protesting the death of Daunte Wright clashed with police,” KSTP reported from the scene. “Earlier in the evening, police deployed chemical irritants to disperse the crowds. A KSTP reporter at the police department said protesters that were arrested during the unrest have been brought back to the department building.”
At least one business was looted, the outlet added, despite calls for peace from local officials and President Joe Biden, who pleaded with demonstrators, late Monday, to avoid destroying local businesses.
“Hundreds gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department Monday and defied curfew. They demanded justice for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by police during a traffic stop,” Fox News reported Tuesday. “The crowd chanted ‘Daunte Wright!’ Some shouted obscenities at officers.”
“Authorities fired tear gas, and flash-bang grenades into the crowd after warning them that they were in violation of curfew,” the outlet added, noting that officers were “shelled pretty significantly,” per local officials. “Some rioters retaliated by throwing smoke canisters back toward law enforcement, while others launched fireworks at the police lines, according to reports.”
Sunday night, rioters smashed police cars, vandalized a police station, and looted local businesses, according to a press conference with Brooklyn Center’s chief of police, who described the unrest as a “riot” much to reporters’ chagrin.
“What was your decision to issue a dispersal order while they were peacefully protesting in front of the police station?” one reporter asked police chief Tim Gannon.
“Just so that everybody’s clear, I was front and center at the protest, at the riot,” Gannon answered.
Don’t do that,” a different reporter interjected, per Fox News.
“There was no riot,” added another member of the media, according to the report.
Gannon responded by outlining the extent of Sunday night’s violence.
“It was,” Gannon answered the reporters. “The officers that were putting themselves in harm’s way were being pelted with frozen cans of pop, they were being pelted with concrete blocks. And yes, we had our helmets on and we had other protection and gear but an officer was injured, hit in the head with a brick so we had to make decisions.”
“We had to disperse the crowd because we cannot allow our officers to be harmed,” he continued.