Jun 17, 2020
VIDEO: Looters Break into Southtown Liquor Early Tuesday Morning, 39 Total People Arrested
By Blake Theisen / KVSC News Director / @btheisen24
Reports of gunshots were a catalyst in the second night of unrest and looting of Southtown Liquor in south St. Cloud late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
Police officers responded to a report of multiple gunshots in the area of 9th Avenue and University Drive South at 10:20 p.m. on Monday. When police arrived at the scene, they found a group of people running from the area and no victim in sight.
Until that time, there were no signs of large crowds in the area. However, within the next 30 minutes, a crowd of roughly 200 people had gathered. The large crowd blocked traffic and began throwing rocks at both officers and passing vehicles.
The unrest escalated to its peak at roughly 11 p.m. when a small group of people broke the glass of the front doors of Southtown Liquor and looted the store. KVSC has obtained videos of the break-in. WARNING: SOME VIDEOS CONTAIN SENSITIVE LANGUAGE.
Southtown Liquor as looters break in.
into Southtown Liquor from the outside.
Liquor shortly after 11 p.m. Monday night.
AUDIO IN SOME OF THE VIDEOS HAS EITHER BEEN REMOVED OR DISTORTED TO PROTECT THE OWNER’S IDENTITY.
As a result of the break-in, officers moved in and stopped people from looting the store. Police began to establish a perimeter and told the crowd to disperse the area. However, some in the crowd continued to throw objects at law enforcement and did not disperse. It was at this point that the crowd had become an unlawful assembly and officers began to throw tear gas and flashbangs to move them back.
From approximately midnight to 4 a.m. Tuesday, the crowd began to reconvene at and around the intersection of 9th Avenue and University Drive South. Police once again had to use tear gas to control the crowd.
There were several reports of gunshots, assaults within the crowd, rocks being thrown and three dumpster fires, two of which were captured on camera by KVSC. One person who was assaulted was taken to the hospital for treatment and has since been released.
By the end of the early morning, 37 adults and 2 juveniles had been taken into custody for charges relating to unlawful assembly and one adult was taken into custody on burglary charges for the looting of Southtown Liquor.
No police officers sustained any significant injuries.
