George Floyd: Police deploy rubber bullets, chemicals on protesters

A protest in response to the police killing of a Black man in Minneapolis turned violent on Tuesday night. 

Thousands of protesters showed up at the intersection of Chicago Avenue South and East 38th St. around 5 p.m. to voice peaceably their anger over the senseless death of George Floyd.

READ MORE: George Floyd dies after saying he can’t breathe with cop’s knee on his neck

Within hours, a memorial in front of the Cup Food store was organized by the community, where leaders and activists were tapped to speak.

According to WCCO, the local CBS affiliate, a man who stated that he was a witness to the event also spoke. 

The reports further state that most of the protesters were even wearing masks and trying to maintain social distance as they gathered amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

At 6 p.m., the protest then turned into a march where participants walked from the market toward the 3rd Precinct, where the officers were thought to have worked. The tone was solemn yet energized, peaceful yet intentional.

 It was then that the tone of the protest changed. 

The news stated that a smaller group began to vandalize police cars and spray paint on the building, and police responded by deploying in riot gear firing tear gas and rubber bullets.  But depending on whose report you believe, the police became aggressive before the vandalization started.

“It’s real ugly,” one protester told WCCO, “The police have to understand that this is the climate they have created, this is the climate they created.” 

“I got on my knees and I put up a peace sign and they tear-gassed me,” another protester said.

Carlos Gonzalez, a photojournalist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, posted heartbreaking photos of the fallout after the aggressive police response. One woman is seen with her face covered in milk as someone tries to help her get tear gas out of her eyes. 

Star Tribune reporter Andy Mannix posted that he was shot in the thigh with a large rubber bullet.

Tweets out of Minneapolis are saying that multiple people were struck in the head with the rubber projectiles: one Somalian woman and another a white man. There is no word on the condition of their injuries.

Tensions were high and many were too impatient to wait for justice to manifest. Some protesters have even tweeted out the home address of former MPD officer, Derek Chauvin, that perpetrated the crime against Floyd. 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there was a white man with a gun who attendees said had intentions to shoot into the crowd. The presumed vigilante was instantly subdued and disarmed.

READ MORE: Former NBA star Stephen Jackson mourns ‘brother’ George Floyd killed by Minneapolis police

George Floyd was killed on Monday evening as police attempted to detain him and an officer pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck for over eight minutes. Police claim that Floyd was a suspect in a forgery, attempting to pass a fake $20 bill.