The governor of Minnesota activated the National Guard Wednesday night to suppress unrest that erupted in downtown Minneapolis following what authorities said was false information about the suicide death of a Black murder suspect.
“We are once again seeing the unrest on our streets. And not just Minnesota, but as a nation, this pain continues,” Gov. Tim Walz told a news conference late last night.
Walz declared an emergency in peacetime in Minneapolis and said he was mobilizing the Minnesota National Guard but did not say how many troops were deployed. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey raised a bell chair Wednesday night until 6 p.m. Thursday night and called for help from the National Guard after people broke windows and stole shops from downtown.
“Minneapolis, it’s time to heal. We must rebuild and repair. Dangerous, illegal behavior will not be tolerated,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.
Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo has dismissed rumors on social media about the death of the unknown Black man who was suspected in a murder on Wednesday afternoon that later killed himself at the Nicollet Mall as officials approached. 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 increasing more tragedy due to the devastation and people want to harm our communities in our downtown area this evening.”
“This is my city. We will not tolerate that,” he continued.
A large crowd began to gather within an hour at the shooting, and some began breaking windows at nearby businesses, CBS Minnesota reports.
The station said people walked into the Target store on the corner of 9th Street and Nicollet Mall to loot it, but police quickly rushed in to check on the crowd. The store soon closed.
Leila Navidi / Star Tribune via Getty Images
Crowds then broke glass at businesses along and near Nicollet Mall, including the IDS Center, Nordstrom Rack, Foot Locker, Haskell’s Wine and Spirits, Brit’s Pub, The Newsroom, Devil’s Advocate, Walgreens, CVS, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Dahl Medical Supply and Caribou Coffee, among others.
By 9 a.m., the looting had spread to a few blocks south of the mall to a strip mall, and there were reports of smash-and-grabs spreading westward, CBS Minnesota said.
Minnesota Correctional Commissioner Paul Schnell said fireworks were set off and bottles were thrown late Wednesday, and there were reports of guns.
Police made arrests and tried to clear downtown, Schnell told reporters. The number of arrests would not be available until Thursday morning, said Minneapolis spokesman John Elder. One officer was hospitalized with a serious injury that was not life-threatening, Elder said.
Minneapolis was shocked by protests that turned violent George Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died after a white police officer on May 25 nearly eight minutes pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck. Floyd’s death sparked protests worldwide. Protesters also gathered in downtown Minneapolis this week to protest Jacob Blake, a black man, was shot several times by police in Wisconsin on Sunday, leaving him paralyzed.
In Minneapolis, Floyd’s death sparked several nights of violence, including the burning of a Minneapolis police station, until Walz activated the National Guard. Southern Minneapolis, where Floyd was arrested, and Northern Minneapolis saw the head of vandalism, but downtown Minneapolis was largely spared.
The Minnesota State Patrol on Wednesday mobilized about 150 troopers and all available metro area state troopers in response to the unrest in Minneapolis, Walz said.
“This is part of a bigger story. It was George Floyd’s flashpoint, it’s spread across this nation. It does us no good to try to share it or to ignore it or to make it worse than to accuse someone. We are. just, as a state and as a nation, need to come together and figure out what our next steps are, ”Walz told reporters.
Frey said Wednesday night during a press conference that he and Walz had been in contact to tackle the unrest. Frey said strengthening enforcement was an effort to “stay as much as possible for the game.”
“What we are calling for now is peace,” Frey said. “What we are calling for now is for people to return to their homes.”
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