Sandy MaloneMinneapolis, MN – More rioting broke out in Minneapolis after a murder suspect ran from police and then shot himself when officers caught up with him.
The incident began about 2 p.m. on Aug. 26 when a person was shot multiples times inside Ramp A off 10th Street North and Currie Avenue West following a disagreement with two other people, WCCO reported.
A man and woman fled the scene after the shooting but the female suspect was quickly captured.
Minneapolis police tracked down the second suspect at about 6 p.m. in the 800-block of Nicollet Mall, WCCO reported.
Surveillance video captured the moment the suspect realized police were about to catch up with him.
Video showed that the suspect turned to face the doors of a building, put a pistol in his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
This is what lead to the Minneapolis unrest? My soul is exhausted. pic.twitter.com/DehiwJxL4Z
— Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) August 27, 2020
Minneapolis police have just shown us video from a city surveillance camera that appears to show a murder suspect die by suicide as officers were closing in on him earlier tonight. This is a freeze frame from the second before it happened… pic.twitter.com/q1rVeDgCm0
— Kent Erdahl (@kenterdahl) August 27, 2020
But despite the fact that police released video of the incident about 90 minutes after it happened that proved the suspect died by suicide, Black Lives Matter activists immediately gathered at the scene and began rioting, WCCO reported.
Violent activists broke out the windows on nearby businesses.
A mob rushed the Target store located at the corner of 9th Street and Nicollet Mall to loot and police responded to that scene quickly and were able to push back most of the crowd that had gathered, WCCO reported.
Black Lives Matter protesters overrun shops in Minneapolis after false rumours spread that police shot dead a black man in the city. It was later confirmed the murder suspect shot himself. https://t.co/Opd3QytAky
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) August 27, 2020
The store shut down shortly thereafter.
By 9 p.m., rioters smashed windows along 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, WCCO reported.
Peaceful protesting in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/jAMKYgMkb8
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 27, 2020
Looters arrested at Dahl Medical Supply on the Nicollet Mall. About 20 officers rode by on bikes, saw the looters and were able to catch of a few of them. Others ran off. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/YWHKlK2Isd
— Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) August 27, 2020
Damage at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis.
Curfew expires in minutes at 6:00.
We’re live on @WCCO right now showing you the aftermath of overnight damage. pic.twitter.com/BFcONjoJv9
— Erin Hassanzadeh WCCO (@erinreportsTV) August 27, 2020
Then looting spread to a strip mall off of LaSalle and Grant Streets and there were additional smash-and-grab reports made along Hennepin Avenue.
Mayor Jacob Frey declared an emergency curfew and asked for help from the Minnesota National Guard, the New York Post reported.
“This is a tragic incident for all involved,” Frey said. “What the city needs now is healing, not more property destruction.”
The city quickly erected roadblocks to stop cars from heading into downtown, WCCO reported.
WIRE: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey implements immediate curfew, requests National Guard amid unrest and looting
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 27, 2020
Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson told the media that false rumors being spread online about what had happened were making “us look bad again,” WCCO reported.
“We’re going to do what we can do to maintain some order and regain some public trust, public safety in the city and the county,” Sheriff Hutchinson said. “If you hurt people and break things … you’re going to go to jail.”
“This is a metro-wide response to a bunch of people who don’t get information right and they just want to riot and loot for their own personal good,” the sheriff added, according to WCCO.
Man attempts to put out the fire at Brit's Pub. Fire crews arrived about 3min later. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/sCD9uCsg0T
— Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) August 27, 2020
Even bus and train services were cancelled by Metro Transit overnight.
Bus and train service has resumed serving downtown Minneapolis. Stay tuned for any further updates affecting service. Thanks for your patience during this fluid situation. -JN
— Metro Transit (@MetroTransitMN) August 27, 2020
Cell phone video showed a Minneapolis police officer appeared to have been knocked unconscious after he was hit in the head by a metal object thrown by protesters.
A #Minneapolis police officer was knocked unconscious tonight after he was struck by an object during more #NoAntiBlackRacism uprisings. pic.twitter.com/jNS5mYjavw
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) August 27, 2020
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made a peacetime emergency declaration that allowed him to mobilize the National Guard to help Minneapolis law enforcement deal with the riots, WCCO reported.
“I want to be clear, the pain people are feeling is real,” Walz said. Still, he said that the issues of police accountability are not going to be fixed with violence and looting.
The owner of the Franklin-Nicollet Liquor Store told WCCO it was the second time his store has been looted this year.
“I came down here after I heard it on the news…that this place was getting hit again,” he said. “I got here and there was no less than 15 cars in the parking lot, 25 people in the store, in and out they were going.”
The business owner said that he called 911 but “they just said, stay away and be safe,” because they had too many calls for help, WCCO reported.
A 10 p.m. emergency curfew will be in effect on Thursday night.
Christopher Berg
