MINNEAPOLIS – The mayor of Minneapolis set a deadlock Wednesday night and asked the National Guard for help following unrest that erupted in the downtown store following what authorities said was false information about the suicide of a Black murder suspect.
Mayor Jacob Frey said details of the outing that went into effect immediately were still being worked out.
Frey said Wednesday night during a press conference that he and Gov. Tim Walz had been in contact to address the situation. Frey said strengthening enforcement was an effort to “stay ahead of the game as much as possible.”
“What we are calling for now is peace,” Frey said. “What we are calling for now is for people to return to their homes.”
Minneapolis was shocked by violent protests after George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died after a white police officer pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes on May 25. Protesters have also gathered in downtown Minneapolis this week to protest after Jacob Blake, a black man, was shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin on Sunday, leaving him paralyzed.
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo dismissed rumors on social media about the death of an unknown Black man suspected in a Wednesday afternoon murder that later killed himself at the Nicollet Mall when officials arrived. However, the incident, which was captured on video of city guards and released within 90 minutes by police, caused protests and looting in the heart of the inner city.
The video confirmed the police account of what happened and showed the man over his shoulder before pulling the gun and shooting, then crashing to the ground as half a dozen witnesses fled with their hands in the air, according to the Star Tribune, The officers, one of whom had drawn his gun, snatched away a surviving witness and kicked the suspect’s gun away before performing chest compressions.
“This is not an officer-related incident,” Arradondo said. “We are exacerbating more tragedy due to the devastation and people who want to harm our communities in our downtown sector this evening.”
‘This is my city. We will not tolerate that, ‘he continued.
