Video: Storefronts on Fifth Avenue, New York City, are boarding up on June 1, 2020, amidst protest violence following George Floyd's death. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng, Wei Ying)
"We support peaceful protest in this city. But right now it's time to go home," NYC mayor tweets around 30 minutes into the curfew.
NEW YORK, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Some 200 people were arrested in New York City Monday night before a curfew order went into effect at 11 p.m. (0300 GMT on Tuesday), local media reported.
Following the same pattern as in the previous days, peaceful protests in the city turned ugly as the night fell. Those arrested on Monday were mostly looters who broke into various shops in Midtown Manhattan, Union Square and on Fifth Avenue, which have all been closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NBC4 and The New York Times.
The chaos prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to impose a curfew on Tuesday as well, which will start earlier than today at 8 p.m. (0000 GMT on Wednesday) and end at 5 a.m. on Wednesday (0900 GMT).
People protest over the death of George Floyd in New York, the United States, June 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Monday's curfew is supposed to end at 5 a.m. on Tuesday (0900 GMT). Both curfews exclude essential workers, homeless people and people seeking medical treatment, according to the mayor.
However, there were still people protesting when the curfew began, and de Blasio took to Twitter to persuade them to go home.
"We support peaceful protest in this city. But right now it's time to go home," the mayor tweeted around 30 minutes into the curfew.
"Some people are out tonight not to protest but to destroy property and hurt others … Their actions are unacceptable and we won't allow them in our city," he continued.
People protest over the death of George Floyd in New York, the United States, June 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio on Monday afternoon made a joint statement announcing the curfew to curb violent acts in extensive protests over Minnesota man George Floyd's death from police brutality and racism.
New York City's police presence was doubled Monday night to 8,000 officers, with a large number of them dispatched to Lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, where violence and looting were rampant on Sunday night.
So far, at least 1,200 people in New York have been arrested in five days of citywide demonstrations, and over 40 police officers were injured, according to NYPD officials. ■