Black Lives Matter affiliated groups rioted and looted in Brooklyn Center, Minn. on Sunday night after a police officer reportedly fatally shot a 20-year-old black man, Duante Wright, and the Minnesota National Guard is deploying in response.
The officer-involved shooting incident took place at around 2 p.m. on Sunday when police pulled Wright over for a traffic violation before discovering he had an outstanding arrest warrant. As police tried to arrest Wright, he re-entered his vehicle, and an officer shot him. Wright drove off a short distance before striking another vehicle and died at the scene.
Following the police shooting incident, demonstrators chanting “black lives matter” began confronting police and climbing on top of police vehicles.
Minnesota National Guard troops have already been activated amid the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Police officer accused of killing George Floyd last May. The ongoing Guard deployment is known as Operation Safety Net (OSN).
During a 1 a.m. press briefing, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said multiple law enforcement agencies and the Minnesota National Guard troops met to discuss a coordinated response to the rioting and the National Guard would be deployed in the Twin Cities to respond to the unrest.
Harrington said, “At this time, we have essentially a full activation” of OSN resources, “and thus you will see a robust assortment of National Guard, state and local police departments working together over the next two or three days as we, once again, prepare for the trial and also are prepared for any other and any further civil unrest that may come from the Brooklyn Center officer-involved shooting.”
Brooklyn Center is a suburb of the of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul and the Sunday shooting incident took place about 10 miles from where Floyd was killed last year.
Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Mark Vancleave tweeted, “The National Guard is on the ground in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.”
KARE11 photojournalist Dave Peterlinz tweeted video from a looted storefront.
Vancleave tweeted, “’Y’all didn’t learn from George Floyd’– Tear gas and rubber bullets after police fatally shoot 20-year-old Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.”
KSTP reporter Ben Henry tweeted, “This was taken at 7:15 Police SUVs were getting damaged – one was throwing a concrete block to smash windows, others were stomping the roof. Police moved in to try and keep order. The mother of the shooting victim got on speaker asking everyone to stop the violence.”
Minnesota OSN tweeted, “500 @MNNationalGuard personnel are activated across the Twin Cities in support of #OperationSafetyNet and the #ChauvinTrial. That number will now increase following Sunday’s officer-involved shooting in Brooklyn Center. We’ll share new numbers as soon as they are in place. #MNOSN.”
During the press briefing, Harrington explained a large crowd had gathered near the scene of the shooting and were “highly agitated” when police and ambulance services arrived at the scene.
After the crowd dispersed from the scene of the shooting there were reports of between 100 and 200 people marching toward the nearby Brooklyn Center Police Department. Harrington said there were later reports of shots being fired in the area and rocks and other objects being thrown at the police department. At the same time the crowd gathered outside the police department, Harrington said a second group gathered at the Shingle Creek Business Center and approximately 20 businesses were broken into.
