Last night a riot broke out at a vigil from Kimani Gray, a 16-year-old killed by police over the weekend, as protesters apparently angry over Gray’s death and the lack of a response from the city threw trash cans, smashed windows, and looted a Rite Aid. According to attendees, the evening began peacefully at around 7pm, and became violent by 8:30.
According to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, Gray pointed a gun at the cops who shot him Saturday, but several eyewitness accounts dispute that version of events. A witness named Camille Johnson said Gray was “running for his life, telling the cops, ‘Stop.”
Councilman Jumaane Williams came to the scene of the protests, tweeting, “Tonight was a peaceful vigil [for Gray] that devolved into a riot,” as DNAinfo points out. “The youth in this community have no outlets for their anger, no community center.”
Williams estimated a crowd of between 60 and 100 people. One disorderly conduct arrest was made, and the Post is reporting three injuries.
(Photo: ChrissyCole/Twitter)
