Students riot in Dinkytown

Over several hours Saturday evening and into Sunday morning, more than 500 students took to the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Seventh Street Southeast near the University of Minnesota in a contained party-turned-riot that culminated in heavy police presence and 12 arrests.

Student reactions to Dinkytown Riot
… With camera in hand, Robbins headed to the scene. The computer science junior was there for about 30 seconds, he said, when without warning police shot him in the groin with a paint canister and tackled him to the ground. … MORE

Partying began in the area as early as 9 a.m. coinciding with the annual Spring Jam celebration. People began moving onto the streets early in the afternoon and getting more raucous around 5 p.m., residents in the area said.

Partygoers tore down street signs and trees to fuel fires that crowds had started around 8 p.m., residents said.

A timeline of how things escalated By Daily Staff April 25 Around 9 a.m. Parties begin coinciding with annual Spring Jam celebration. Early afternoon Parties begin moving outside. 5 p.m. Residents report that parties get more raucous. Between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Police first respond to Dinkytown neighborhoods and meet partygoers who throw rocks and bottles. 8 p.m. A street bonfire begins on the 1300 block of Seventh Street. 10:15 p.m. Fire trucks arrive to put out street fire. Many partygoers scatter. 10:40 p.m. People continue throwing garbage cans, wood and brush onto the street fire. 10:48 p.m. People begin throwing bottles with alcohol onto the fire. 10:56 p.m. More than a dozen police cars, with some riot police, and at least one police van arrive at the scene. 11:08 p.m. Officers spray pepper spray into crowd. 11:10 p.m. Police use concussion grenades. 11:30 p.m. Reports of arrests on the scene. 11:37 p.m. Police continue to fire projectiles and use concussion grenades and tear gas. April 26 12 a.m. Activity seemingly quiets down. Many officers leave the scene, though police continue to patrol the area. 12:35 p.m. The fire appears to restart in the street. Police also make another push to clear the streets using strengthened force. 12:40 a.m. Police begin moving in on the fire, dispensing chemical irritants along the way. 12:44 p.m. Another fire truck is at the scene to put out the fire. 12:45 p.m. Police continue their use of concussion grenades. 12:50 a.m. Arrests made. A fire truck puts out the fire in the middle of Seventh Street. 1 a.m. Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia holds a press conference. As of this time, four official arrests have been made. “This is a lot of drunk college students that are taking advantage of a good situation,” Garcia said about Spring Jam. “I think they might have gotten the message tonight.” 1:05 a.m. A police officer was seen smashing the hood of a car with a riot baton. Staff photographers said police were raiding a home near the intersection. Some houses had tear gas shot inside them. Around 1:30 a.m. Police congregate in a nearby church parking lot and detain another person for taunting the officers. Shortly after, it starts raining and police begin leaving the scene. —Daily Staff reports

People jumped on cars, rode in shopping carts and chanted around the fires as the evening progressed. Partygoers attempted to flip cars sporadically through the evening and harassed drivers attempting to navigate through the area.

Officers first responded to the scene around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and met partygoers throwing bottles and rocks, Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said.

The police regrouped and returned to the area some time later, where at least 500 people had congregated in the streets amid shards of broken glass and fires, Garcia said.

Waves of police clashed with partiers over the course of a few hours, eventually nearly vacating the scene before a new fire started at the same location after midnight.

At that point, police moved back in, containing the fire with the Minneapolis Fire Department before it began raining after 1 a.m., at which time police began leaving the area.

About 70 officers, many clad in riot gear, were at the scene over the course of the night, Garcia said. They used various chemical irritants, including gas and spray — commonly known as tear gas and mace — as well as riot sticks and projectiles, such as foam and marking rounds, for crowd control.

Some partygoers almost immediately submitted to the officers, but many resisted, launching bottles and debris at officers and onto the fires and shooting fireworks toward police.

Many residents took in strangers trying to flee from the officers.

Any potential injuries resulting from the riot were not life-threatening, Garcia said.

“This is a lot of drunk college students that are taking advantage of a good situation,” Garcia said. “I think they might have gotten the message tonight.”

Garcia said both “alcohol and age” were contributing factors to the parties.

“This was a large party that was intent on causing mayhem,” Garcia said. “The way these kids acted [Saturday] night really is going to make it hard for future students to enjoy Spring Jam safely.”

The late cancellation of Spring Jam concert headliner Talib Kweli could have contributed to the parties, University police Chief Greg Hestness said. About 15 University police officers assisted Minneapolis police during the rioting, Hestness said.

In a statement, Jerry Rinehart , University vice provost for student affairs, apologized to residents in the area for what he called “an unacceptable display of lawless behavior.”

“This kind of conduct is not reflective of our student body or the University of Minnesota community,” he said.

—Robert Downs, Devin Henry, Mike Langseth, Karlee Weinmann, Mike Rose and Vadim Lavrusik contributed to this report.

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