National Guard Deployed in Minneapolis Amid Rioting Over Fatal Police Shooting
500 National Guard personnel activated in Twin Cities
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The National Guard has been deployed in Minneapolis to tackle the violent rioting in the wake of a fatal police shooting.
Troops were deployed to the streets of the Twin Cities in the early hours of Monday morning after hundreds of people rioted and looted following the death of a man who was shot as he tried to flee from police.
Police stopped 20-year-old Daunte Wright for an outstanding warrant in Brooklyn Center on Sunday afternoon.
According to the police, he was shot after he jumped back into his car and tried to escape, crashing several blocks away.
Hundreds of protesters gathered as news spread of the shooting, with rioters looting and trashing around 20 stores, according to the Star Tribune.
“Police used tear gas, flashbangs, and rubber bullets on the crowd,” the paper reports.
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"National Guard troops arrived just before midnight as looters targeted the Brooklyn Center Walmart and nearby shopping mall," the Tribune adds.
"Several businesses around the Walmart were completely destroyed, including Foot Locker, T Mobile, and a New York men’s clothing store.”
The looting spread across Minneapolis, with stores in Uptown also being looted.
Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott ordered a curfew order until 6 a.m. Monday and all school buildings were shut down, according to The Daily Wire.
More National Guard members are set to arrive Monday.
We are in the process of expediting those plans to bring additional Guardsmen on duty in response to the events overnight in Brooklyn Center. We will continue to assist in protecting lives and property and maintaining peace in Minnesota's community.
— MN National Guard (@MNNationalGuard) April 12, 2021
"Our entire community is filled with grief following today’s officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old young man,” Elliott said.
"Our hearts are with his family, and with all those in our community impacted by this tragedy."
"While we await additional information from the BCA [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] who is leading the investigation, we continue to ask that members of our community gathering do so peacefully, amid our calls for transparency and accountability.”
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote on Twitter that he was “closely monitoring the situation” and “praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement.”
I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 12, 2021
"Brooklyn Center Police Department officers initiated a stop for a traffic violation,” the police wrote in a press release.
"Officers determined that the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant.
"At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle.”
"One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver,” the police said.
"The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle,” the police press release explains.
"Officers in pursuit and responding medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, but the person died at the scene.”
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At a press conference early Monday morning, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington detailed how protesters swarmed the area, jumping on top of police cars and throwing rocks and bottles at police.
Marchers also descended upon the Brooklyn Center Police Department building.
“Protesters pushed past police tape and confronted officers donning riot gear. Around 7:15 p.m., the crowd broke the windshields of two squad cars and police fired nonlethal rounds to try to disperse the crowd,” the Star Tribune reported.
“By 8:30 p.m., the remaining crowd gathered to light candles, burn sage and write messages in chalk on the street near the scene.”
The paper also interviewed Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, who “tearfully pleaded near the scene Sunday afternoon for more information and for her son’s body to be moved from the street.
"She also urged the protesters to remain peaceful.”
