New York was under curfew that would last until early Tuesday morning, officials said after looters raided central Manhattan stores targeting some of the city’s best retailers. .
High-end fashion store Michael Kors on Fifth Avenue was among the affected luxury stores, along with Nike, Lego, and electronics stores in Midtown, before the curfew was in effect from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. AFP journalists said.
Groups of young people were moving from one block to another in the neighborhood, generally crowded with tourists but deserted because of the coronavirus, whole streets being blocked by the police.
NY1 local television footage showed youth fleeing a Best Buy electronics store before being arrested by police.
Stores in southern Manhattan have suffered a similar fate, according to an AFP photographer.
The New York Times reported that Macy’s flagship department store was also targeted by looters.
Police did not immediately confirm this, simply saying that “many stores were hit” and “hundreds” were arrested across the city.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said many stores around Madison Avenue were affected and the situation was “really not acceptable”.
As a result, he said the curfew would start at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday instead of 11:00 p.m.
“The city is completely under control, and extremely calm and peaceful,” he nonetheless insisted on NY1.
“It’s time to go home”
The imposition of the curfew had been announced a few hours earlier by the mayor and the governor of the State of New York Andrew Cuomo after protests and lootings during the weekend – in particular in the trendy district of SoHo.
The mayor tweeted Monday evening that “the protesters are extremely peaceful today” but that some people were on the verge of damaging property and stealing.
“We support peaceful protests in this city. But for now, it’s time to go home,” said de Blasio.
“Some people went out tonight not to protest but to destroy property and injure others – and these people are arrested. Their actions are unacceptable and we will not allow them in our city.”
New York, the economic capital of the United States, and some 40 other cities in the country have imposed curfews after violent protests against police brutality triggered by the death of African-American George Floyd in Minnesota.
Just after 11:00 p.m., a hundred people organized a peaceful demonstration in front of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the scene of major demonstrations in recent days, kneeling in tribute to the victims of police violence, according to an AFP journalist.
The police observed them from a distance but did not arrest anyone despite the curfew.
As looters hit New York, Washington, President Donald Trump said he “sent thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers to stop the riots, the looting, vandalism, assault and the gratuitous destruction of property. “
The mayor of Blasio, a Democrat, spoke out against Trump’s “belligerent words” and “conflicting rhetoric”.
“I don’t think it was a statement from the last few hours that caused it all, I think it was what he did for years that helped,” he said.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
