Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: London Rioters Loot Bleeding Boy's Backpack
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 9, 2011
Modified Aug 9, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 9, 2011
Modified Aug 9, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Wow, the International Olympics Committee must be regretting picking London over NYC for the 2012 Olympics right about now! With the police proving themselves incapable of effectively cracking down on the rioting and looting that has swept London in recent days, organizers of the London Olympics are reviewing security measures. Today the Mayor of London assured the world that the city would be able to rebuild before the Olympics begin... in a year. Stiff upper lip and all that, old chap, what what! Here's a sad video of thugs stealing items from the backpack of a bleeding, disoriented boy:
London officials decided not to cancel a six-day beach volleyball event starting today at Horse Guards Parade, but the Times of India points out that the worst rioting took place in the Olympic borough of Hackney in East London, just a few miles from the Olympic facilities. London's deputy mayor Kit Malthouse said, "It's pretty rotten for London, it does not look good."
The situation is so bad that Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to cut his vacation in Tuscany short, and has returned to the U.K., where there will be 16,000 police officers on duty in London tonight, up from 6,000 last night, Bloomberg News reports. Cameron also recalled Parliament in order to debate the riots, and many MPs have been demanding tougher tactics to put an end to this. "This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated," Cameron told reporters, but thus far he has refused to issue a curfew, call in the army, or permit the police to use water cannons.
Over 450 people have been arrested, and in neighborhoods across London, local politicians and private citizens have been taking to the streets to clean up the mess. London police have set up a Flickr pool featuring surveillance photos of looting suspects and rioters. But they remain undeterred—"vast amounts" of CDs, vinyl records, and other music stock at a 215,000-square-foot Sony warehouse were destroyed in a fire last night. Among the casualties: the release of the Arctic Monkey’s new single will be delayed. Okay rioters, you get a pass for that one, but now Neon Indian had to cancel their concert! Are you happy now?
For more on the rioting, here's West Indian-born British columnist and political activist Darcus Howe, who tells BBC, "I don’t call it rioting. I call it an insurrection of the masses of the people. It is happening in Syria, it is happening in Clapham, it is happening in Liverpool, it is happening in Port of Spain, Trinidad."
Tagged
london
london riots
olympics 2012
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .