Sunday 7 August 2011

Anti-police riot in Tottenham



AN ANTI-POLICE riot broke out in the London suburb of Tottenham on Saturday night, as simmering anger finally reached boiling point.

The insurrection followed on from a protest against yet another death of a young man at the hands of an increasingly discredited and hated police force.

29-year-old father-of-four Mark Duggan was gunned down by cops on Thursday and friends and family had gathered to demand justice.

The rioting saw police cars, a bus and shops torched as the police lost control of the north London streets for several hours.

Added The Guardian: "There were scenes of chaos in the early hours of Sunday morning as sustained looting spread from Tottenham to other nearby areas of Haringey.

"By midnight police managed to secure a 200-metre stretch of the Tottenham High Road, scene of some of the worst rioting on Saturday night.

"But as fire engines entered the street, and began putting out blazing cars and buildings, the rioters spread north and east through back-streets. To the north, at Tottenham Hale, Aldi supermarket was ransacked and set on fire. So too was a nearby carpet shop, causing a huge blaze.

"Looters turned up with cars and shopping trolleys to carry away stolen goods. Nearby, large groups of youths congregated in the surrounding streets with sticks, bottles and hammers.

"Some wore balaclava masks, preventing cars from accessing streets as buildings were broken into. Others used large rubbish bins to form burning barricades across the road."