London burns as residents riot

north London.
Twenty-six officers and three others were hurt in the violence which erupted after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan on Thursday.

Residents surveyed the damage after homes were looted and shops burnt down.
Tottenham MP David Lammy said: “A community that was already hurting has had its heart ripped out.”
The Metropolitan Police said two officers were still in hospital.
The people arrested remain in custody for offences including violent disorder, burglary and theft.

Shops and homes were raided and cash machines ripped out in Tottenham.
There were also thefts from shops in nearby Wood Green.
Police had earlier said there were still “pockets of criminality” in the area yesterday morning.
London Fire Brigade received 264 emergency calls late on Saturday and in the early hours yesterday and attended 49 fires in the Tottenham area.

Some smoking buildings were still being dampened yesterday, while police enforced a cordon around the scene of the violence as residents surveyed the damage to their community.
Labour MP Mr Lammy said: “This is an attack on Tottenham, on people, shopkeepers, women, children, now standing homeless.
“I’m concerned that what was a peaceful process turned into this,” he added.

“And that it seemed to go on for many hours before we saw the kind of policing that I think is appropriate.
“And I think small skirmishes initially should have been stopped far quicker.”
During the riot, which erupted about 20:20 BST, people threw petrol bombs, reducing many buildings and vehicles to charred wrecks.

Among the damage was a double-decker bus, two police cars, and a large building housing a carpet shop.
Crowds of looters smashed shop windows in a retail park near Tottenham Hale tube station.
The front window of Currys electrical store was smashed, and the door of Argos was also shattered, with broken glass covering the floor inside and out after looters apparently raided the stock room.

Every handset was stolen from a mobile phone store.
Home Secretary Theresa May condemned the violence.
She said: “Such disregard for public safety and property will not be tolerated and the Metropolitan Police have my full support in restoring order.”

Met Commander Adrian Hanstock said: “The level of violence was escalated beyond proportion.
“A peaceful vigil was hijacked by mindless thugs. We couldn’t have anticipated that level of violence.”

But an 18-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, voiced a sentiment he said was shared by many.
“Police know what they should have done, they should have come to speak to the community themselves,” he said.
“They don’t care.”

A Downing Street spokesman called the rioting “utterly unacceptable”.
He added: “There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property.”
Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars to the retail park and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police.

Others arrived on foot and piled shopping trolleys high with looted electronic goods, a local woman, who did not want to be named, said.
Another local resident told the BBC that looting had continued beyond daybreak on Sunday. Meanwhile, shops in nearby Wood Green were also raided and two cars burnt out.

Vision Express, the Body Shop, Boots and JD Sports were among shops looted on Wood Green High Street.
The BBC’s Andy Moore said that since riots in 1985, relations between the local community and police had been generally good, but last week’s shooting of Mr Duggan raised tensions.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Thursday’s shooting.
A police officer was also shot in the incident, which happened in what was called a “pre-planned” event, under Operation Trident which investigates gun crime in the African and Caribbean communities, when police stopped a minicab containing Mr Duggan.

A friend of Mr Duggan, who gave her name as Niki, (53), said those who had joined Saturday’s protest, which began with a march from Broadwater Farm area, wanted “justice for the family”.
London’s deputy mayor Kit Malthouse said: “I can’t see any excuse for the kind of behaviour we saw last night.

“It’s absolutely outrageous to see it on the streets of London. We’ll do as much as we can to ensure there’s no recurrence tonight.”
Of the investigation over the shooting of Mr Duggan, Mr Malthouse said: “I can understand people’s unrest.
“But these investigations take some time.” – BBC News.