Minneapolis braces for more violence over death in custody

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard as a wounded Minneapolis braced for more violence Thursday, one day after rioting over the death of a handcuffed black man in police custody reduced parts of one neighborhood to a smoking shambles, with burned buildings, looted stores and angry graffiti demanding justice.

The unrest ravaged several blocks in the Longfellow neighborhood, with scattered rioting reaching for miles across the city. It was the second consecutive night of violent protests following the death of George Floyd, who gasped for breath during a Monday arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes. In footage recorded by a bystander, Floyd can be heard pleading that he can’t breathe until he slowly stops talking and moving.

Another protest was announced for Thursday evening near county offices downtown. Some stores in Minneapolis and the suburbs planned to close early, fearing more strife. The city shut down its light-rail system and planned to stop all bus service “out of concern for the safety of riders and employees,” a statement said.

Around midday Thursday, the violence spread to a Target store several miles away in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, where police said 50 to 60 people rushed the store and attempted to take merchandise. St. Paul police and state patrol squad cars later blocked the entrance, but looting then spread to shops along nearby University Avenue, one of St. Paul’s main commercial corridors, and other spots in the city.

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