London Riots Continue for 3rd Day, Social Media Questioned
Rioters have continued their rampage in London as a third day of violence and protests hit England’s capital city.
London is now on full-scale alert as violence is spreading rapidly across the city. The riots have spread from Tottenham in the north to other areas of the city including into the south and east.
London has been experiencing its worst rioting in years over the past few days, sparked by violence this past weekend following the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan.
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Duggan, a black man, was shot dead in a cab on Thursday after police had made an attempt to arrest him.
His death sparked the riots that began only hours after his family held a Saturday evening vigil and protest for him on the streets of Tottenham.
Reportedly, police had clubbed a teenage girl at the protest and that incident led to the chaos that spread rioting.
Duggan was described by police as a "gangster."
The riots have seen cars, shops, as well as iconic London red double-decker busses set ablaze. Looting has also been highly reported as the riot is continuing its spiral out of control.
As of Monday, police have arrested hundreds of people associated with the riots.
Police believe that technology in the form of social media is a contributing factor to the spread of violence.
Some rioters have used their Twitter accounts to promote the riots and violence with one user using the forum to state, "Everyone up and roll to Tottenham f*** the 50 (police)."
Other technology services are also being questioned for their role in the riots. The maker of BlackBerry, Research in Motion (RIM), is cooperating with London police about its messenger service that is believed to have contributed to the dissemination of riot messages.
Patrick Spense of RIM released a statement in which he said, "We feel for those impacted by the riots in London. We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can."
