On Wednesday, London was engulfed in riots and looting attempts in response to inflammatory TikTok videos advocating for the same. When attempted looting occurred at approximately 3pm on Oxford Street in Central London, panicked business owners slammed down their shutters with customers still inside, according to the Mirror. To maintain law and order, police and law enforcement officers detained rioters and issued a dispersal order.
“Throughout Wednesday (9 August) officers maintained a high visibility presence within the Oxford Street area. As of 20:15hrs officers have issued 34 people with dispersal orders and made nine arrests”, averred Met Police.
“Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and one person was arrested on suspicion of public order offence.” In the afternoon, two people in Essex were “arrested for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts”.
The occurrences in London on Wednesday follow riots and bloodshed in New York last week. A violent throng scuffled with police in New York after assembling at Union Square Park in an attempt to acquire free Playstation 5 consoles, which Twitch broadcaster Kai Cenat promised would be handed away.
When officers attempted to disperse the rioting throng in New York, they were attacked with rocks, bottles, and other debris. During the pandemonium sparked mostly by his declaration of a free giveaway at the spot, the streamer Cenat was also detained by authorities.
