Soho in New York City was ravaged by looters on Sunday night who smashed the windows of luxury stores like Gucci, Chanel and Bloomingdales to steal goods in a wild night of riots that saw more than 250 arrests, cops being injured and one man being shot.
It remains unclear if those who smashed up the stores were part of protests against George Floyd’s death, or if they belonged to different groups and were merely taking advantage of the chaos unfolding across the country.
Across New York City on Sunday night, more than 250 people were arrested. Six cops were injured, none seriously, and a man in his twenties was shot in the abdomen after an argument with a different group of young men.
The man was shot at 12.30am at the corner of Crosby Street and Spring Street, a stone’s throw from the stores that were ransacked. He is in the hospital in a stable condition.
NYPD cops in riot gear patrolled the streets and helicopters hovered above the neighborhood – known for its trendy restaurants, luxury clothing stores and expensive apartments – throughout the night.
Similar scenes played out in cities across the country in a sixth night of riots and protests over Floyd’s death. The unarmed 46-year-old black man died on Monday in Minneapolis after cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
Chauvin has now been charged with his murder but three other cops involved are yet to face charges.
His death has sparked a national conversation about racism and police brutality amid a backdrop of a country that had already been shaken by economic uncertainty and public health fears caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Chanel in Soho on Monday morning after looters smashed windows to ransack luxury stores in another night of chaos
The looters pulled down plywood to get into the stores. They are not thought to have been part of the Floyd protests
A young man on a Citibike on Monday morning after taking from Balmain, one of the many stores that was looted on Sunday night
Street cleaners on Monday morning in Soho. Boxes of goods from the stores were also seen lying in the streets
The smashed window at G-Shock on West Broadway on Monday morning 
Happy Socks on West Broadway on Monday morning 
NYPD officers on Monday morning outside Chanel in New York City. More than 250 people were arrested in NYC on Sunday night
Another jewelry store on West Broadway that had its windows smashed on Sunday night 
Jewelry store Aurate on Monday morning after being smashed up by the looters 
Looters taking from a store in Soho on Sunday night before police arrived 
The looters not only took on luxury stores – they smashed windows of smaller independent retailers and smoke shops to seize goods that were in the windows 
It’s unclear which store the looters were ransacking here. Some worse coronavirus masks and others did not 
A looter smashes the window at Dolce and Gabanna on Sunday night in New York’s Soho 
Looters ransack Uno de 50, a jewelry store on Prince Street, on Sunday night 
NYPD officers in Soho on Sunday night after the looters tore down plywood at Chanel 
Chanel on Sunday night after looters ransacked the store 
The aftermath of riots and looting inside Coach on Sunday night 
Mercer Street in New York City on Sunday night 
An NYPD car was set on fire outside Bloomingdales. Its torched shell remained there after the looters had passed through the area