Thousands of young people descended on New York City’s Union Square on Friday afternoon after a social media influencer announced a video game console giveaway, sparking chaotic scenes in which officers were hit with rocks and bottles and leaving dozens of attendees injured.
(Bloomberg) — Thousands of young people descended on New York City’s Union Square on Friday afternoon after a social media influencer announced a video game console giveaway, sparking chaotic scenes in which officers were hit with rocks and bottles and leaving dozens of attendees injured.
There were numerous arrests and “acts of violence” at what New York City Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey described as an unlawful assembly in the downtown Manhattan park. Union Square was “overrun,” he said, and the surge snarled traffic and temporarily suspended subway service on several train lines.
Officers were hit with bottles, rocks and fireworks, while young people were pushed, shoved and hit with debris in the crowd surge, Maddrey said. The total number of arrests is still being tallied and police successfully dispersed people from the park within a couple of hours.
The influx came after Kai Cenat, a Twitch streamer and YouTube creator, announced a giveaway at the park, promising those that showed up PlayStation consoles and other gifts. The social media personality, who has about 6.5 million subscribers on Twitch and about 4 million on YouTube, was safely removed from the park and was being questioned by police.
Maddrey said NYPD officers operated with “great restraint” despite the violence and hostility they were met with. The investigation is still underway.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority said earlier Friday that New York City subway’s 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R and W trains will bypass the 14 Street-Union Square station in both directions because of police activity. It later announced that subway trains have since resumed stopping at the station.
–With assistance from Ian Fisher.
(Updates with NYPD press conference, reports of violence and arrests)
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