08-08-2011, 02:35 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-08-2011, 03:32 AM by GrooveMan.exe.)
Yeah, that's right. Guns are both harder to get and incredibly illegal over here.
The thing is, no one's entirely sure of the circumstances of the shooting 2/3 days ago. The Met is notorious for spinning and covering up fuckups - and if the local police shot the guy if he wasn't firing or threatening them with a gun, then that's a gigantic fuckup.
Tottenham (the area that had the initial riot) is a fairly poor community coupled with youths that have less of a 'future' with regards to the local council not doing much about education and employment, and shutting down 8 of the 13 (IIRC) local youth centres. This leaves a lot of angry and bored kids with a grudge against the establishment.
Last night they held a protest in the area of the shooting. The police were there and it was non-violent, until something made them spark off. One of the reports was that a girl who was asking the police questions was hit when she got too close. Either way, it was the straw that broke the camel's back, and people became angry and scared. And when people get angry and scared they panic and riot.
Thing is, it got entirely out of control. Petrol bombs and garbage bins were set alight and thrown at the police and surrounding areas. A Bus caught fire (people were still in it, but escaped), along with 2 police cars, and 3 commercial stores (A Carpetright, a JD Sports and an Aldi, if you give a shit).
Then there was a continuation of the riots - all within a similar area of North-East London around Tottenham. I remember reports from Enfield, Wood Green, Edmonton, Brixton, and my local area of Walthamstow being hit by rioters.
By that point I started following info of Walthamstow on twitter since I needed to check the extent of the damage and if my friends were okay. Unlike Tottenham and a few of the other new riot locations, thankfully nothing was set on fire. The local police were a bit quicker in coming to aid, and the local MP did her bit in surveying the damage, and warning people on Twitter to stay indoors. However, the majority of the high street has been smashed up. It's a place where I spent a big chunk of my childhood growing up, it's a bit distressing to see it so damaged.
The thing is, no one's entirely sure of the circumstances of the shooting 2/3 days ago. The Met is notorious for spinning and covering up fuckups - and if the local police shot the guy if he wasn't firing or threatening them with a gun, then that's a gigantic fuckup.
Tottenham (the area that had the initial riot) is a fairly poor community coupled with youths that have less of a 'future' with regards to the local council not doing much about education and employment, and shutting down 8 of the 13 (IIRC) local youth centres. This leaves a lot of angry and bored kids with a grudge against the establishment.
Last night they held a protest in the area of the shooting. The police were there and it was non-violent, until something made them spark off. One of the reports was that a girl who was asking the police questions was hit when she got too close. Either way, it was the straw that broke the camel's back, and people became angry and scared. And when people get angry and scared they panic and riot.
Thing is, it got entirely out of control. Petrol bombs and garbage bins were set alight and thrown at the police and surrounding areas. A Bus caught fire (people were still in it, but escaped), along with 2 police cars, and 3 commercial stores (A Carpetright, a JD Sports and an Aldi, if you give a shit).
Then there was a continuation of the riots - all within a similar area of North-East London around Tottenham. I remember reports from Enfield, Wood Green, Edmonton, Brixton, and my local area of Walthamstow being hit by rioters.
By that point I started following info of Walthamstow on twitter since I needed to check the extent of the damage and if my friends were okay. Unlike Tottenham and a few of the other new riot locations, thankfully nothing was set on fire. The local police were a bit quicker in coming to aid, and the local MP did her bit in surveying the damage, and warning people on Twitter to stay indoors. However, the majority of the high street has been smashed up. It's a place where I spent a big chunk of my childhood growing up, it's a bit distressing to see it so damaged.