By Riley Anderson
On May 25, George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in a neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. His death sparked outrage across the nation due to the police brutality shown in a video posted online. The officer at fault, Derek Chauvin, has been fired from the department and charged with third-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter.
Thousands of people including celebrities like Ariana Grande, Tinashe, and Halsey have taken to the streets to peacefully protest. Closer to home, in downtown Phoenix, people gathered for the third day of protests. However, the night ended in violence when police began to fire tear gas.
A few miles down the road, a separate group took to Fashion Square in Scottsdale, where they raided hundreds of stores and vandalized the mall, restaurants, and buildings. Windows to several stores were smashed as hundreds of people looted the stores. Some of them being Apple, Urban Outfitters, Neiman Marcus, and many more.
A few streets down on Fifth Avenue, more local shops and restaurants were vandalized and looted. These include The Original ChopShop, Cartel, ScapeGoat, and more. Scottsdale Police reported millions of dollars in damage and theft. The department also reported that 12 people were arrested last night following the raids.
It was argued by those in attendance of the Phoenix protest that the events that occurred Scottsdale Fashion Square were not acts of protest, but people looking to steal and use the Black Lives Matter movement as a cover for it.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsDon’t call a bunch of brats who broke into Scottsdale Fashion Square to make their Instagram story look cool “protestors”. They don’t care about black lives. They care about attention.
— Kristen Keogh-Yurus (@KristenKeogh) May 31, 2020
Amid the violence, Youtuber Jake Paul was spotted filming the events unfolding. Many accused him of partaking in the violence and raiding. This morning he released a statement on Twitter defending himself, “to be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism,” he said.
As a result of these events, the Scottsdale Fashion Square will be closed until further notice. Many local citizens came together this morning to help clean the broken glass from the streets and clean the vandalism from walls. The Scottsdale Police also tweeted this morning that “Camelback Rd from Goldwater Bl to Scottsdale Rd is closed.” More information on the events from last night will be announced later today as the story unfolds.
Gov. Doug Ducey has also declared a state of emergency and announced a statewide curfew of 8 p.m. that will last until 5 a.m. At this time the new curfew will last the entire week. Here’s for more information on curfew.
Despite the violence that occurred at the mall, thousands are still peacefully protesting and raising money for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The links below are just a few ways you can make a difference and educate yourself.
https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co
How are you taking action? Let us know on Instagram and Twitter or leave a comment!
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The Chic 