by Kara Machowski
It is alleged that disgruntled Minneapolis police officer set fire to the AutoZone on Thursday night during the riots promoting Black Lives Matter and in retaliation of the death of George Floyd who was killed by Derek Chauvin on Memorial Day during an arrest. The man who set fire to the AutoZone first appeared in a YouTube video that went viral; picturing a man in a gas mask, black hoodie pulled over his head, a black umbrella, black windbreaker, pants and gloves. The YouTube video description alleges that the man was a Minneapolis police officer. The man appears angered that he’s being filmed as he reaches for the cell phone of the person who is recording him with their phone.
It is still unconfirmed whether the man is a police officer or not, but a search continues for him. The protestors who set the Minneapolis’ Third Precinct police headquarters were blamed in the AutoZone fire because of the close proximity to the police headquarters, right across the street. Some are upset by the fact that the fire could have been a police officer, Twitter users have shared a photo of a supposed Minneapolis police officer, paired next to the photo of the masked man and claiming that the police officer in the photo is the hooded man. Some users who have shared the photos even claim to know the alleged police officer and claimed that his name is Jacob Peterson.
In the video it appears as if civilians are trying to stop the hooded man from knocking in the windows of the AutoZone, which left the building free to be looted or vandalized. There is a possibility that the masked man was not actually from Minnesota as it’s reported that 80% of rioters appear to be from out of state. This is according to St. Paul Mayor, saying that everyone that was arrested on Thursday night were from out of state.
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