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Hundreds descended into the heart of downtown Minneapolis Wednesday night to decry the death of a man who killed himself on Nicollet Mall as police closed in on him, sparking unrest and property damage along the corridor and leading to a National Guard mobilization.
Police almost immediately shared surveillance video of the suicide, but it did little to calm the crowds who broke windows at retail stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops, prompting Gov. Tim Walz to declare a Peacetime Emergency in the City of Minneapolis and mobilize the Minnesota National Guard. Mayor Jacob Frey also ordered a 10 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for Wednesday and Thursday.
At a late evening news conference, Frey and Chief Medaria Arradondo stressed the man killed himself earlier in the day and that it was not an “officer-involved shooting.”