Crews respond to roughly 30 fires overnight in Minneapolis

KSTP

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Thursday morning, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS continued covering the aftermath of violent protests, during a situation that was changing by the minute overnight.

Fires continued burning overnight in the midst of destruction during protests in response to the death of George Floyd.

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The Minneapolis Fire Department stated firefighters responded to roughly 30 "fire events," including at least 16 structure fires during protests along Lake Street.

The department reported responding vehicles were damaged from rocks and other projectiles thrown. No firefighters or protesters were hurt as a result of the fires, authorities said.

[KSTP/ Chris Egert]

Firefighters remained at the scene Thursday morning, working to extinguish remaining fires.

Early Thursday, KSTP’s Ashley Zilka reported on fires and damage near the Third Precinct in south Minneapolis.

KSTP’s Chris Egert, meanwhile, reported on damage to businesses throughout the city.

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Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS officers are responding and assistance has been called in, in the midst of the situation.

"We do have some groups over the past several hours here who have engaged in criminal conduct which we just cannot have for our great city, incuding looting and significant damage to property, throwing projectiles," Arradondo said. "It runs a great risk of injury to others and certainly to the officers."

Arradondo said there are reports of officers and protesters being injured overnight, however, he was not able to go into detail on those reports.

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Meanwhile, the St. Paul Police Department has been called in to assist.

Xcel Energy reports that over 2,000 customers in the area of Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue are experiencing power outages.

Another protest is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at the Hennepin County Government Center.

Communities United Against Police Brutality Protest planned for Downtown Minneapolis Thursday

Thursday morning, Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, issued a statement, which reads, in part:

I spoke with George Floyd’s family this morning and they would like to thank all of the protesters for joining them in standing for JUSTICE. They know we’re all hurting. They know that any decent human being who watches the video of the police killing their Gentle Giant by having his knee on his neck while he was handcuffed facedown will also feel a shortness of breath like George. They told me they want peace in Minneapolis, but they know that Black people want peace in their souls and that until we get #JusticeForFloyd there will be no peace. We also cannot sink to the level of our oppressors and we cannot endanger each other as we respond to the necessary urge to raise our voices in unison and in outrage. Looting and violence distract from the strength of our collective voice. To assuage this death and begin the community’s healing, city and police leaders need to look at the culture they’ve created and ask the hard questions.

This is a developing news story. KSTP is working to get more details on this story and will post updates as more information becomes available.

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