The 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was set on fire Thursday evening after police evacuated the building amid continued protests over George Floyd’s death.
Protests quickly escalated after Floyd, a black man, died Monday after being detained by police. Video footage showed an officer stepping on Floyd’s neck as he cried out that he could not breath. Protests began Tuesday following his death and continued to escalate, with buildings being burned to the ground and others being looted.
Townhall reporter Julio Rosas was on the ground Thursday evening and tweeted that officers had “abandoned” the building. Shortly after, Rosas said rioters managed to break through, but retreated as police set tear gas off in the building. A video shows officers being chased by rioters as they left the area.
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????????????: Can’t believe what I’m seeing the Minneapolis police has ABANDONED the 3rd precinct’s building!! Rioters have stormed in the parking lot and are now damaging the building.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 29, 2020
This is the moment when Minneapolis police officers abandoned the 3rd precinct building. Rioters chased them as they left and continued to throw objects at the police vehicles. pic.twitter.com/KoxAAYiUIN
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) May 29, 2020
Moments later, CNN reported that the 3rd Police Precinct was on fire. CNN reported that it was unclear where the officers were and that there was no police presence, adding that cheers could be heard from the crowd as the precinct burned.
The Minneapolis police confirmed that officers had evacuated the building in a statement Thursday evening, FOX9 reporter Theo Keith tweeted.
“Shortly after 10:00 pm tonight, in the interest of the safety of our personnel, the Minneapolis Police Department evacuated the 3rd Precinct of its staff,” the statement reads. “Protesters forcibly entered the building and have ignited several fires. No further information is available.”
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The fire quickly spread across the entire building, according to Fox9 executive producer Seth Kaplan. The producer noted that no firefighters were on the scene yet, and speculated that the “building will likely be destroyed tonight.”
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The fire at the MPD’s 3rd Precinct was only at one corner 5 minutes ago. It’s now spread across the entire building. With no firefighters on scene… that building will likely be destroyed tonight. pic.twitter.com/t6p3Yv1KYV
— Seth Kaplan (@Seth_Kaplan) May 29, 2020
Numerous buildings were destroyed Wednesday evening, including a Target, an AutoZone and a construction site that was reportedly set to be the new home of low-income housing units.
Following a third night of protests, the Minnesota National Guard was deployed, according to a tweet. The national guard tweeted that it had “activated more than 500 soldiers to St. Paul, Minneapolis and surrounding communities” as of Thursday evening.
“Our mission is to protect life, preserve property and the right to peacefully demonstrate,” the Minnesota National Guard tweeted. “A key objective is to ensure fire departments are able to respond to calls.” (RELATED: Minneapolis Burns As Looters Take To The Streets Following Protests Over Death Of George Floyd)
