Victim’s family condemns riots

The family of a man shot dead by police say they “are not condoning” the riots and looting that rocked their local area last night.

The trouble flared up in Tottenham, north London, two days after Mark Duggan, 29, was gunned down.

It followed a peaceful march by members of the local community demanding “justice” for Mr Duggan’s relatives.

Mr Duggan’s brother Shaun Hall told Sky News: “We’re not condoning any kind of actions like that at all.

“It seems to be the press who are generally saying that it is linked to my brother. OK some questions were supposed to have been answered, they weren’t answered, therefore, there was a domino effect from that, we don’t condone that at all.

“I know people are frustrated, they’re angry out there at the moment, but I would say please try and hold it down. Please don’t make this about my brother’s life, he was a good man.”

He said that the family is “devastated” at his death.

“We’re all devastated about the mishap, we don’t actually know what has actually happened. I suppose that is what is the most grilling thing for us at the moment.

“Nobody’s has actually come forward and told us ‘this is what has taken place’. Whether we believe what they’re saying or whether we don’t, there should be somebody here putting my parents’ minds at rest about whatever’s going on.

“The whole family’s devastated. We don’t want Mark portrayed as some kind of gangster, he was a family man, as you’ll see from the true pictures that you’ll see of him now.”

He dismissed as “utter rubbish” the allegations that he had shot at police

“My brother’s not that sort of person. He’s not stupid to shoot at the police, that’s ridiculous.”

A major investigation has been launched, codenamed Operation Withern.

The riots were roundly condemned as the shocked community surveyed the devastation caused.

Community and political leaders were swift to criticise the rioting, looting and arson that swept through the area after the mood at the protest turned nasty.

Local residents were left destitute after being forced to flee their burning homes, and looters went on the rampage in Tottenham Hale Retail Park half a mile away, smashing shop windows and grabbing whatever they could.

Timeline of how the events unfolded

6.15p.m., August 4: Police shot dead a 29-year-old man in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, who had been travelling in a minicab. He was named locally as Mark Duggan, a father-of-four. Officers had stopped the cab to carry out an arrest as part of a pre-planned operation, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

5.30p.m., August 6: About 120 people marched peacefully from the local area of Broadwater Farm to Tottenham Police station, demanding “justice” for Mr Duggan’s family. The High Road was closed and traffic diverted.

8.20p.m., August 6: Two police cars parked about 200 yards from the police station were attacked. A number of bottles were thrown at the vehicles, one was set alight and the second was pushed into the middle of the High Road. It was subsequently set alight.

Riots broke out in which windows were smashed, a petrol bomb thrown, and buildings set on fire. A double decker bus was also set alight.

Hundreds of people gathered in the street. Police tried to break up the crowd but bottles and other missiles were thrown at them.

3 a.m., August 7: A group of teenagers and adults looted almost all the stores in Tottenham Hale Retail Park half a mile away. Shops windows and doors were smashed in and the shops were raided.

Police said one officer had been taken to hospital and seven others were injured in the riots. Seven more officers were later taken to hospital.

A total of 26 officers were injured during the unrest and 42 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder, burglary and theft.

11.15 a.m., August 7: Local MP David Lammy, speaking from behind the police tape on the High Road, called for calm. Crowds of local residents gathered at the cordon, some still angry with the police, others angrier with the rioters.

12.30 p.m., August 7: Metropolitan Police Commander Adrian Hanstock condemned the riots as “absolutely unacceptable”. He said a peaceful demonstration had been hijacked by a small number of “criminal elements” using it for their own gain.