George Floyd Demonstration Turns Ugly and Violent

Minneapolis (KROC AM News) - ��What began as a second night of demonstrators and protesters upset about the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis turned into a violent and ugly scene that included fires, property damage, and looting Wednesday.

And police are investigating a possible homicide that may be linked to Wednesday’s chaos.

Protesters began forming in the late afternoon and the crowd grew over the next few hours. Police officers in the area began using chemical irritants in an effort to keep the crowd under control but conditions continued to deteriorate and led to this Twitter post by Gov Walz around 10:30 PM:

“The situation near Lake Street and Hiawatha in Minneapolis has evolved into an extremely dangerous situation. For everyone's safety, please leave the area and allow firefighters and paramedics to get to the scene.”

Minneapolis officials asked Walz to send National Guard soldiers to help restore calm.  No immediate decision was made but  50 - 60 state troopers were dispatched.  Minneapolis police also confirm several surrounding cities supplied officers.

Video from the scene shows looters inside a Target store and other businesses were also looted and set on fire.

The city was put in the national spotlight after the death of Floyd while in police custody Monday night. A video showed an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes until he apparently lost consciousness and was taken away in an ambulance and later pronounced dead. All four officers who were at the scene were fired the next day and the case remains under investigation.