#Murder suspect’s suicide sparks looting, unrest in Minneapolis

A murder suspect in Minneapolis committed suicide as police were about to capture him Wednesday — sparking looting and unrest in a city still reeling from the death of George Floyd.

The man, who is black, shot himself in front of several bystanders outside of a building on Nicollet Mall in the city’s downtown area, the Star Tribune reported.

About 90 minutes after the 6 p.m. suicide, police released city surveillance footage of the incident to demonstrate that it was not a police-involved shooting.

But protesters still made their way downtown. The demonstrations began peacefully. One protester even used a megaphone to tell the crowd “the man killed himself,” the report said.

Once night fell, however, the protests turned violent, with looting and vandalism, according to reports.

A local Fox affiliate reporter, Courtney Godfrey, captured some of the lootings and posted the video to Twitter.

In one clip, looters can be seen entering and exiting a Saks Fifth Avenue on Nicollet Mall through a broken window.

Looters also hit a nearby liquor store and a medical arts building, Godfrey wrote.

The unrest prompted the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, to call in the Minnesota National Guard and issue a curfew, according to the Star Tribune.

“This is a tragic incident for all involved,” the mayor said. “What the city needs now is healing, not more property destruction.”

The man who shot himself was wanted for allegedly murdering a man in a downtown parking garage earlier Wednesday, the report said.