Rioters wreak havoc in Vancouver after Canucks loss
Posted June 16, 2011 8:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police have regained control of the streets in downtown Vancouver after rioting broke out following the Vancouver Canucks loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday.
It was a G20-like riot, with mob violence, burning of vehicles, out of control mobs, looting at stores, police on horseback and riot squads using tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to bring the crowd under control.
Jerseys were set on fire, cars were flipped over, several people taken to hospital and several arrests made. There were reports of several stabbing incidents, but no deaths, and reports of heavy looting at the Bay, where expensive merchandise was stolen.
Vancouver police are asking the public to send in their photos of the violence and looting directly to them, and also to post them at: at: Vancouver 2011 Riot Criminal List.
People were seen throwing things at the police. As a result, Vancouver Police have brought in reinforcements from West Vancouver and other jurisdictions.
Canucks fans took to the streets in downtown Vancouver moments after game.
Vancouver’s News1130 video:
According to Vancouver General Hospital, between 30 to 40 people were treated in the emergency room. Three people were admitted, and one person remains in hospital in critical condition. Most people were treated, decontaminated from tear gas and released.
At St. Paul’s Hospital, 100 people were treated in hospital — three to four times the normal volume in a night — with 70 treated in the emergency room and another 30 people in the ambulance bay for tear gas-related injuries.
At least two parked cars were set on fire, while others were tipped over. As many as eight fires could be seen from the air as reports came in angry fans were burning their Canucks jerseys.
When police arrived in riot gear the crowd split into two, the observers and those who continued to taunt officials. Fences around the area were pushed down and police put on gas masks as they threatened to use tear gas, as well as force to disperse the crowd.
The chaos is eerily reminiscent of a similar riot that erupted in the city in 1994 following a similar Cup loss to the New York Rangers.
