Soho in New York City was ravaged by looters on Sunday night who smashed the windows of luxury stores like Gucci, Chanel and Bloomingdales to steal goods in a wild night of riots that saw more than 250 arrests, cops being injured and one man being shot.
It remains unclear if those who smashed up the stores were part of protests against George Floyd’s death, or if they belonged to different groups and were merely taking advantage of the chaos unfolding across the country.
Across the city, more than 250 people were arrested. Six cops were injured, none fatally, and a man in his twenties was shot in the abdomen after an argument with a different group of young men.
The man was shot at 12.30am at the corner of Crosby Street and Spring Street, a stone’s throw from the stores that were ransacked. He is in the hospital in a stable condition.
NYPD cops in riot gear patrolled the streets and helicopters hovered above the neighborhood – known for its trendy restaurants, luxury clothing stores and expensive apartments – throughout the night.
Similar scenes played out in cities across the country in a sixth night of riots and protests over Floyd’s death. The unarmed 46-year-old black man died on Monday in Minneapolis after cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
Chauvin has now been charged with his murder but three other cops involved are yet to face charges. His death has sparked a national conversation about racism and police brutality amid a backdrop of economic uncertainty and public health fears caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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