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LIVE UPDATES: Violent Protests In Chicago In Wake Of Death Of George Floyd; Chicago Curfew Imposed By Mayor Lightfoot

Key Developments

Looting and damage was widely reported in the Loop and Magnificent Mile

Mayor Lightfoot imposed a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, effective until further notice

Crowds clashed violently with police. Several officers were injured. 

Police cars were sent on fire and live ammunition inside exploded.

The Chicago Sports store at 332 N. Michigan Ave. went up in flames. Central Camera at 230 S. Wabash Ave. was also destroyed by fire, but the owner vows to rebuild.

 

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Protests turned to violent unrest in and around the downtown Chicago area Saturday night – as demonstrators faced off with police, set fires, and looted stores in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis custody.

Floyd was handcuffed when he begged for air as a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck.

11:25 p.m.

Central Camera at 332 S. Wabash Ave. in the South Loop also looted and set on fire, CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported. CBS 2's Charlie De Mar said the store was a total loss.

There were also reports of fire trucks being looted.

10:49 p.m.

Sources tell CBS 2's Dave Savini as many as 100 Chicago Police officers were taken to the hospital Saturday night. One officer said protesters used an explosive device to destroy his car.

Looters remained in the flagship Macy's store at 111 N. State St., and police were still confronting them nearly two hours into the curfew.

10:40 p.m.

A major fire broke out at a sports store on Michigan Avenue near Wacker Drive, next to the Nakamol Chicago jewelry store. Flames were seen shooting out of the window, and the fire appeared to spread to the second and third floor.

CBS 2's Jeremy Ross reported 10 to 12 firefighters rushed to the scene.

9:51 p.m.

After the curfew was enacted, police were seen making arrests on State Street near Monroe Street and also rushing into stores that had been broken into and looted. CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported debris littered the street from end to end.

9:37 p.m.

CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports all display cases and racks have been picked through and left empty, and all the glass has been smashed at Macy's at 111 N. State St.

By 9:30 p.m., police had taken control of the situation, though people were driving erratically and doing donuts in the strset.

9:20 p.m.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker, a Hyde Park resident, said the exits on Lake Shore Drive between 31st and 53rd streets were blocked off. When she asked police what was going on, police said there was concern that protesters would come to Hyde Park and attempt to destroy 53rd Street. But no protesters were seen in that area.

9:20 p.m.

Just a minute after the 9 p.m. curfew went into effect, looters broke into a downtown Sunglass Hut.

Moments earlier, just outside the CBS 2 Broadcast Center, a small fire was set at the intersection of Dearborn and Washington streets and police pushed back the crowd there. The Bank of America branch at that intersection was vandalized.

8:54 p.m.

Several stores were vandalized on the Magnificent Mile.  CBS 2's Tara Molina took these photographs of the damage at Cartier, Rolex, Zara and Burberry.

Zara
Damage from violent protests on the Magnificent Mile. (CBS)
Mich Ave
Damage from violent protests on the Magnificent Mile. (CBS)
Cartier
Damage from violent protests on the Magnificent Mile. (CBS)
F Trump
Damage from violent protests on the Magnificent Mile. (CBS)

 

Jeremy Ross reports looters broke into the Blackhawks store on Michigan Avenue and stole merchandise.

 

The Walgreens on State Street downtown, Neiman Marcus, the Disney Store, and the luxury car dealership at Pearson and Rush streets were also broken into.

8:22 p.m.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice.

"What started out as a peaceful protest has now devolved into criminal conduct. We have watched thes protesters hurl not just words, bur projectiles at our police department; bottles of water, urine, and Lord knows what else," Mayor Lightfoot said.

The mayor also said shovels, bats, hammers, and lead pipes were wielded against officers.

Mayor Lightfoot praised those who expressed their First Amendment rights, but also expressed disappointment, and "really, my total disgust," at those who came to the protests downtown "armed for all-out battle."

Police Supt. David Brown said some officers suffered broken bones.

"It has been one of the most violent days of the city of Chicago, and it hearkens back, really, to the late 1960s," CBS 2's Jim Williams said.

7:47 p.m.
A car that was believed to be a Chicago Police vehicle was apparently on fire near State and Lake streets, and police vehicles also had their windows bashed out.

Police were closing State Street and directing everyone to move back.

Fire in downtown Chicago amid ongoing #GeorgeFlpyd protests

Posted by Marissa Parra on Saturday, May 30, 2020

7:41 p.m.

Twitter user Nicholas Kania showed people inside a smashed window at the Kay Jewelers at the Palmer House Hilton, and running out to the sound of broken glass when someone repeatedly yelled, "Get out of there!"

CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported some protesters formed human chains so that the Fire Department could not get to burning vehicles.

7:38 p.m.

Protesters started an unmarked squad car on fire downtown in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini reported there were several explosions and there might have been live ammunition in the car.

7:12 p.m.

CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports protesters have broken into the Macy's flagship at 111 N. State St. People were seen taking off with bags and other merchandise.

6:39 p.m.
After a standoff ensued between police and protesters on the Wabash Avenue Bridge outside Trump Tower, other Chicago River bridges were raised to prevent the same from happening elsewhere.

6:25 p.m.
CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported numerous structures were vandalized and spray-painted with graffiti near Trump Tower. Police warned demonstrators that they would be arrested if they did not comply with orders.

Standoff on bridge outside Chicago's Trump Tower between police and #GeorgeFloyd protesters

Posted by Marissa Parra on Saturday, May 30, 2020

6:23 p.m.
All CTA bus and train service has been suspended amid the protest. Service has been halted as far north as Division Street, as far south as 35th Street, and as far west as Ashland Avenue.

5:25 p.m.
There were reports that up to three officers were injured at the scene of a protest near Trump Tower. The severity of their injuries was not immediately learned.

3:10 p.m.
A skirmish erupted after people started throwing water bottles at police around Adams and State streets. There was at least one other skirmish with Chicago Police nearby.

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