2nd night of unrest in St. Cloud after social media rumors, 40 arrested

Overnight Monday into Tuesday, authorities worked to contain more unrest in St. Cloud.

According to a KSTP crew at the scene, law enforcement responded to reports of damage and small fires burning overnight.

KSTP's Ben Henry reported from the area Tuesday morning that additional law enforcement agencies had responded to the St. Cloud area.

This all began early Monday, after an incident in which a police officer was shot in the hand and an 18-year-old was arrested.

Police said the 18-year-old resisted arrest and during a struggle, he produced a handgun, which went off and hit an officer in the hand. Police said the officer was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. The 18-year-old was also taken to the hospital due to injuries consistent with a laceration, police said.

Authorities said the incident sparked the spread of incorrect information on social media.

Officials condemn social media misinformation after officer shot in hand, 18-year-old hurt in St. Cloud

Tuesday morning, the KSTP crew at the scene learned additional arrests were made overnight.

Police said, at about 10:20 p.m., officers responded to a report of multiple gunshots in the area of Ninth Avenue and University Drive. Multiple people fled the area when officers arrived but police didn't locate any victims. While they investigated, people began gathering in the area.

By 10:50 p.m., police estimated about 200 people were gathered and were blocking traffic. Officers also saw people throwing rocks at officers and passing vehicles.

At 11 p.m., police said some people began breaking the front door glass of Southtown Liquor and looting the store. Officers stepped in to stop those individuals and also gave the crowd a mandatory notice to disperse.

Police said rocks were still being thrown and the crowd didn't disperse so officers deployed chemical munitions.

The department said officers then responded to several unlawful assemblies, reports of shots fired, reports of assaults within the crowd and three dumpster fires over the next four hours.

At one point, officers had to disperse a crowd to get to a man who had been assaulted and needed medical attention. Police said the victim was extracted and taken to a hospital where he was treated and later released.

Crowd control measures were used on several occasions overnight, and police said multiple officers were hit by rocks but no serious injuries were reported. The majority of incidents occurred in the southside area in St. Cloud.

Overall, 37 adults and two juveniles were taken into custody for charges related to unlawful assembly, police said. One adult was also taken into custody for burglary of Southside Liquor.

Investigation into the burglary of Southside Liquor is still ongoing.