Minneapolis is a powder keg as Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s back, stands trial for murder. Sunday evening gave a small taste of the rioting and looting that are likely to follow a Chauvin acquittal. Police officers shot Duante Wright, a 20-year-old black man, during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon, sparking a new round of looting and rioting in Brooklyn Center, a city 10 miles north of Minneapolis.
Rioters jumped on police cars, broke into and looted local businesses, and gathered in force to face off with cops in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
Katie Wright, Duante Wright’s mother, said her son called her during the traffic stop. She claimed that police pulled him over because he had air fresheners in his car, but the police say there was a warrant out for his arrest.
“He called me at about 1:40, said he was getting pulled over by the police,” the mother told reporters at the scene in footage captured in a Facebook Live video. “He said they pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.”
“I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information,” the mother added. “Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, ‘Put the phone down and get out of the car.’ And Daunte said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘We’ll explain to you when you get out of the car.'”
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“All he did was had air fresheners in the car,” the mother said. “He got out of the car and his girlfriend said they shot him. He got back in the car and he drove away and crashed.”
Here’s more from the mother: pic.twitter.com/L1rtYSiMUP
— Kim Hyatt (@kimvhyatt) April 11, 2021
The Brooklyn Center Police Department released a statement on the shooting, announcing that an investigation is underway. The department claimed cops pulled Wright over for a traffic violation, but “officers determined the driver of the vehicle had an outstanding warrant.”
“At one point as officers were attempting to take the driver into custody, the driver re-entered the vehicle,” the press release explained. “One officer discharged their firearm, striking the driver. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.”
“Officers in pursuit and responding medical personnel attempted life saving measures, but the person died at the scene,” the release added. “Brooklyn Center officers wear body-worn cameras. We believe both body-worn cameras and dash cameras were activated during this incident.”
The Post Millennial’s editor-at-large, Andy Ngo, shared photos from Duante Wright’s Facebook page in which the man posed with bundles of cash and held a gun threateningly at the camera.
The claim from #DuanteWright's mother & #BLM activists that he was killed by police over air fresheners is unsubstantiated. There was a warrant for his arrest. He resisted arrest & got back in the vehicle & tried to speed off. He nearly killed others during the failed escape. pic.twitter.com/nVyqPpJeyl
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
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Duante Wright’s death was tragic, especially considering the fact that he leaves behind a one-and-a-half-year-old son, Duante Wright, Jr. However, it seems he died after police responded when he resisted arrest. The warrant for his arrest may have been related to gang activity.
After the mother’s video, Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at the scene of Wright’s death. They proceeded to jump on cop cars at the scene.
#BLM protesters began rioting near Minneapolis in response to the police-involved shooting of a suspected gang member. pic.twitter.com/Pr7VNPPfoq
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
Others broke into various stores for rounds of looting. They looted a Walmart, a GameStop, O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store, a gas station convenience store, a Sally Beauty Supply, and a liquor store.
People looted a GameStop overnight in response to BLM inciting a riot & violence in Brooklyn Center (near Minneapolis) after police killed a criminal suspect evading arrest. #DuanteWright pic.twitter.com/LWPA4Xm7r2
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) April 12, 2021
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Naisha Wright, who identified herself as Duante Wright’s aunt, posted on Facebook, “Minneapolis can burn the f**k down.”
Protesters and rioters marched toward the police station and the cops squared off, ready for violence.
Police standoff with protesters in front of station after shooting of black man in Brooklyn Center north of Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/6InuUljFyL
— Barbara Plett Usher (@BBCBarbaraPlett) April 12, 2021
Rioters reportedly threw projectiles at police, who responded with tear gas. Carlos Gonzalez, a photojournalist at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, captured arresting photos of the riot.
The scene at the Brooklyn Center police department. pic.twitter.com/IVUftqXAAJ
— Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto) April 12, 2021
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Gonzalez captured flash-bangs and the graffiti on the police department sign.
More images from the Brooklyn Center Minnesota police department. pic.twitter.com/8v55l3Fks6
— Carlos Gonzalez (@CarlosGphoto) April 12, 2021
The protesters and rioters dispersed after the National Guard and the Minnesota State Troopers arrived.
The George Floyd riots last summer damaged, burned, or destroyed no fewer than 700 buildings in Minneapolis. Should Chauvin get acquitted, more riots are likely to resume.
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