Police almost immediately shared surveillance video of the suicide, but it did little to calm crowds who broke windows at retail stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.
At a late evening news conference, Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo stressed that the man killed himself earlier in the day and that it was not an "Officer-involved shooting." "This is a tragic incident for all involved," said Frey.
The outbreak comes three months after George Floyd was killed during an encounter with Minneapolis police, sparking widespread protests and destruction along Lake Street and across parts of the Twin Cities.
The video confirms the police account of what happened and shows the man glancing over his shoulder before pulling out the gun and firing, then collapsing to the ground as a half-dozen witnesses ran away with their hands in the air.
Police spokesman John Elder said the department was able to release the city camera footage because the officers were not involved in deadly use of force.
Immediately after the suicide, a hostile crowd swiftly grew into the hundreds as police tried to cordon off the area and form a perimeter.
An activist walked through the crowd with a megaphone attempting to calm the crowd, saying, "We have the video. The man killed himself." Around 10 p.m. a crowd remained in the heart of downtown but was mostly peaceful as police blocked off large areas.
https://m.startribune.com/mpls-under-a-curfew-until-6-a-m-mayor-requests-guard-for-unrest/572231992/
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