Law Enforcement Raid Cup Foods Vigil For George Floyd, Taking Mourners Into Custody

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In all the chaos that's erupted in the Twin Cities since the death of George Floyd, who died after a now-former Minneapolis police officer held a knee against his neck for more than eight minutes, one of the few places that's remained a source of calm has been the vigil at Cup Foods.

Cup Foods was the store at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue where Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit bill, which led to a 911 call that wound up in the fatal attempted arrest.

Since Floyd's death on Monday, the site has been increasingly strewn with handmade tributes to his life, street art, and flowers that had for the ensuing week -- despite pandemonium elsewhere in the city -- remained a place where people seemed to respect the solemnity of the site.

Saturday's demonstrations were by good measure less chaotic and destructive as the days leading up to the weekend. After thousands ignored Gov. Tim Walz's curfew and, once again, dozens of buildings went up in flames -- mainly along Lake Street -- Walz called on the forces of the entire Minnesota National Guard to help restore order.

On Saturday, though, WCCO's Jeff Wagner wound down from an evening's worth of liveshots by returning once again to Cup Foods.

As he wrapped up, law enforcement arrived on the scene, at which a few dozen people were paying respects. They ultimately fired what appeared to be rubber bullets and took people into custody.

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