THE Minnesota governor has deployed the National Guard as the protests over the brutal arrest of George Floyd erupted in violence.
Gov. Tim Walz called in the troops on Thursday as looting broke out in St Paul and Minneapolis braced itself for another night of unrest after Floyd‘s death.
His emergency decision comes after Officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck as the black man shouted “I can’t breathe” on Monday, prompting widespread protests.
This morning, smoke rose from smouldering buildings in the Longfellow neighborhood, while nearly every store window in a strip mall across the street from the police’s 3rd Precinct station had been smashed.
Reports have since emerged on social media that a person was stabbed during one of the demonstrations.
Star Tribune Ryan Faircloth, who was on the scene this evening, described how canisters of tear gas were thrown outside a Target, near where the reported stabbing occurred.
“Police are on the scene,” Faircloth tweeted. “They just fired projectiles at the crowd to push people away from the area.”
Walz appealed to residents to stop the violence in a Twitter statement this evening as the violence escalated.
“As George Floyd’s family has said, he ‘would not want people to get hurt. He lived his life protecting people,'” the governor wrote.
“Let’s come together to rebuild, remember, and seek justice for George Floyd. As Governor, I will always defend the right to protest.
“It is how we express pain, process tragedy, and create change. That is why I am answering our local leaders’ request for Minnesota National Guard assistance to protect peaceful demonstrators, neighbors, and small businesses in Minnesota.”
Unrest ravaged several blocks in the Longfellow neighborhood, with scattered rioting reaching for miles across the city before Walz made the decision.
Protesters in California and New York also took to the streets, as President Trump and other officials issued their condemnation and condolences after Floyd’s death.
It was the second consecutive night of violent protests following Floyd’s death, who gasped for breath as Chauvin was videoed kneeling on his neck for eight minutes.
Floyd can be heard pleading, saying he “can’t breathe” until he slowly stops talking and moving in the shocking footage, which has been widely shared online.
On Thursday evening, another protest was announced in downtown Minneapolis.
This prompted some stores in Minneapolis and the suburbs to shutter early as they feared more riots were on the horizon.
The light-rail system was shut down, and all bus services are set to stop as protests continue in the Minnesota city.
Earlier Thursday, at around midday, the violence spread to a Target in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, where cops found around 60 people trying to loot it.
They blocked the entrance as the looting moved to shops along nearby University Avenue, one of St. Pauls main commercial corridors, and other parts of Minneapolis this afternoon.
St Paul spokesman Steve Linders said authorities have been dealing with unrest in roughly 20 different areas throughout the city since Floyd’s untimely death.
Fire crews responded to about 30 intentionally set blazes during the protests, reports said, including at least 16 structure fires, and multiple fire trucks were damaged by rocks and other projectiles.
“The situation near Lake Street and Hiawatha in Minneapolis has evolved into an extremely dangerous situation,” Walz warning on Wednesday evening. “For everyone’s safety, please leave the area and allow firefighters and paramedics to get to the scene.”
Mayor Jacob Frey also appealed for calm on Twitter and eventually asked Walz to bring in the National Guard as violent protests extending into Thursday escalated.
These included skirmishes between offices and protesters but no widespread property damage or looting.
A man was found fatally shot Wednesday night near a pawn shop, possibly by the owner, on Wednesday, authorities told the Associated Press.
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“Please stay home,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter begged residents in a plea to residents taking to the streets. “Please do not come here to protest.
“Please keep the focus on George Floyd, on advancing our movement and on preventing this from ever happening again.”
“We can all be in that fight together,” Carter added as violence continued to ravage the city.
