Crowd overwhelms New York City’s Union Square, tosses chairs, climbs on vehicles
By The Associated Press on August 4, 2023.
NEW YORK (AP) – Police in New York City are struggling to control a crowd of thousands of people who gathered in Manhattan’s Union Square for an Internet personality’s videogame console giveaway that turned into a riot. Aerial TV news footage Friday showed a surging, tightly packed crowd climbing on vehicles, hurling chairs, throwing punches and scaling structures in the park. Traffic was blocked by the crowd on several streets. A growing number of police officers could be seen trying to control the gathering. Some people climbed on top of a moving vehicle and pounded on the side of a city bus. The NYPD didn’t immediately have information on injuries or arrests. On his Instagram feed, the streamer known as Kai Cenat, who has millions of social media followers, had an image promoting a giveaway at 4 p.m. Friday in the park. 6-5
