Black Lives Matter protests in the Bronx started peacefully on Monday, Jun. 1, as they had done on Sunday, May 31. as reported. By the early hours of Tuesday morning, however, as yet unidentified groups had caused the borough to descend into chaos, marked by multiple arrests, looting, fires, clashes with police, at least one police officer being run over, and an alleged break-in at Bronx Zoo.

 

Demonstrators gathered in the South Bronx during daylight hours to rally for police reform in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man living in Minneapolis who, it was ruled yesterday, died by asphyxiation during his arrest by police on May 25, 2020, caused by sustained pressure on his neck.

 

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer who is seen in a viral video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes while Floyd is pinned face-down on the ground pleading for air, is facing third degree murder and manslaughter charges, following a week of protests across the country.

 

Protestors say the charges are insufficient, and are demanding additional charges be brought against the remaining officers who were present at the scene of the crime, as well as calling for police reform across the country.

 

A series of speakers addressed the crowd at the South Bronx rally, which included a march from 149th Street and Third Avenue to St. Mary’s Park. One unidentified speaker said, “We’re not here for violence. We’re not here to steal. We’re not here to take from each other. We’re here for our voice to be heard.”

 

The demonstrators chanted, “I can’t breathe,” and “No justice, no peace,” at different points during the rally, as nearby police monitored the situation, dressed in riot gear. At one point, protestors took a silent knee in the presence of NYPD officers. Though there were some jeers from the crowd as police dispersed at the end of the rally, there were no major confrontations.

 

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., as violence and looting continued across many U.S. cities, President Donald Trump threatened, on Monday evening, to send the military to any states where governors could not restore law and order.

 

At 6:39 p.m., New York City issued an alert announcing an 11:00 p.m. curfew, excluding essential workers, until 5:00 a.m. the following morning. An emergency warning about the curfew was sent to all cell phone users later on Monday night.

 

By that stage, night had begun to fall across the borough, and looting and arrests were taking place, while clashes were also erupting between the police and members of the public. It is unknown which groups were carrying out the looting. Police have said in some cases they are being carried out by organized gangs and are pre-planned. On police radio calls, officers could be heard calling for back-up due to objects being thrown from building rooftops (airmail) on Kingsbridge Road and Fordham Road, as well as reports of looting at 2437 Grand Concourse.

 

There were other radio reports of police being ambushed on East 193rd Street and Marion Avenue, and separately, of four injured people who were apparently hit by fire works. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports were also received of a police vehicle that was possibly on fire at East Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue.

 

As night became morning, the chaos continued. One person reportedly broke into Bronx Zoo at around 1:30 a.m., though Norwood News cannot confirm the validity of the video (outlined below) which was posted to Twitter. We reached out to Bronx Zoo for comment on June 1, but did not receive an immediate response.

Leave the animals out of this they’re endangered! & people will take it out on the animals not you guys. THEYRE ENDSNGERED #bronxzoo @BronxZoo pic.twitter.com/j73zZVbRvL

— lil hums’ (@fstwifi) June 2, 2020

Twitter user, Khalidah Carrington, commented on a separate Twitter post (outlined below) that, “The Bronx zoo in NY used to have Black people on display.” CNN reported on this in 2015.

 

On Tuesday morning, there were unconfirmed reports of a separate police officer having been run over at Walton Avenue and East 170th Street, and of a retired police officer who was reportedly shot at 62 East 182nd Street at 5:26 a.m.

 

The Bronx zoo in NY used to have black people on display

— Khalidah.eth (@KhalidahC_) May 31, 2020

 

On another radio call on Jun. 1, at 10:57 p.m. there were unconfirmed reports of a suspected police vehicle on fire at East Fordham Road and Webster Avenue. FDNY later said a brick was thrown through the window but there was no fire.

 

Many people caught the night’s events on camera and posted them to social media. Hotspots included Fordham Road, Baychester, and Co-op City. One video shows the looting of a jewelry store, while others show where Old Navy’s windows had been smashed and subsequently boarded up on Fordham Road. There were also unconfirmed reports that the Kingsbridge library had been set on fire, and that Footlocker was also looted.

 

One Twitter user, Tariq Nasheed, posted two separate videos of police under attack. One shows a policeman being attacked by a couple of protestors, and hit with what appears to be a box, while another shows a black SUV running over a police officer at speed at the junction of Jerome Avenue and West Burnside Avenue.

 

(Editor’s note: A number of the following videos contain profanities.)

#NYPD Officer was just beaten on the street in the #Bronx tonight #AntiRacismUprising pic.twitter.com/Deubn0ejMG

— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 2, 2020

 

Another tweet posted by user, @iHateClue, shows an apparent store owner cleaning up after his store was apparently looted. Green, smashed glass is seen scattered on the sidewalk, while bystanders appear to film the damage.

 

A separate video (not shown here), posted on YouTube by Luis Hernandez, showed an alleged looting of a store at Fordham Road near Decatur Avenue.  There was also an unconfirmed report of a jewelry store being looted, and rumors of a gang from Queens who had come to loot the Bronx on Monday night.

 

Another NYPD Officer was run over by a car tonight, this time in the Bronx#AntiRacismRebellion pic.twitter.com/4u2powIiiy

— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 2, 2020

 

Another video shows street fires burning on Fordham Road.

 

Some time after the alleged looting on East Fordham Road, local resident, Shanequa Charles, posted what was happening on the ground in the area on Facebook Live, saying she felt a responsibility to document it and tell her community’s own story.

 

Norwood News broadcast her feed live on our Facebook page. Several people were seen milling around the area, along with police cars and police officers still dressed in riot gear. Sirens and a helicopter could also be heard in the background.

 

So they brought the looting to Fordham pic.twitter.com/U39l8FlYOs

— C4 🐐🏁💙 (@iHateClue) June 1, 2020

Despite Sunday’s afternoon protest going off peacefully, a police radio call later retrieved from May 31, recorded police units urgently requesting additional assistance at 10:11 p.m. at East Fordham Road and Valentine Avenue because fireworks and air mail were being hurled at police. “Air mail” is a term used to describe a situation where objects are thrown from on high in housing units at police officers.

THE #BRONX IS BURNING‼️‼️‼️ #fordham #newyorkprotest pic.twitter.com/QYoRJPregQ

— JERELLZ (@atajerellz) June 2, 2020

Similarly, another retrieved police radio call from Sunday, May 31, recorded requests for back-up at Grand Concourse and at East 188th Street because of air mail. Additional assistance was also requested at East Fordham Road and Tiebout Avenue because of airmail on Jun. 1, at 3:39 p.m.

 

Norwood News has reached out to verify all alleged incidents with the NYPD.

I also want to be clear- my desire for accountability is not a condonation of violence or destruction. Protest and dissent is a part of who we are as a country. There is room to walk and chew gum at the same time, so to speak.

— Jamaal T. Bailey (@jamaaltbailey) May 31, 2020

 

On Tuesday, June 2, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will be joined by Bronx District Attorney, Darcel Clark, and Bronx elected officials, community groups and clergy to call for peaceful protests following the night of destruction.

 

State Sen. Jamaal Bailey, had posted a tweet on May 30 referencing the protests, where he said that his desire for accountability was not a condonation of violence or destruction. “Protest and dissent is a part of who we are as a country,” he wrote. “There is room to walk and chew gum at the same time, so to speak.”

 

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included a photo of Dariella Rodriguez and other peaceful protestors in the South Bronx at the referenced, peaceful event which took place in the earlier part of Monday, June 1. The photo has since been replaced with an alternative one, as it was never intended to conflate the earlier, peaceful protests which took place in the South Bronx, with the subsequent riots and looting which took place later in the day on Fordham Road. We apologize sincerely to Ms. Rodriguez and to her colleagues for any offense we may have inadvertently caused.