Violent Riot Erupts In NYC After ‘Influencer’ Holds PlayStation Giveaway
A social media influencer’s giveaway in New York City’s Union Square spiraled into a violent riot when a massive group of kids and teenagers swarmed the area — throwing bottles, jumping on vehicles and even attacking police officers.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson revealed that at least 1,000 youths had gathered in the area of Union Square Park for a PlayStation giveaway organized by a social media influencer.
The influencer has been identified as Twitch gamer Kai Cenat, who has more than 20 million followers on the platform. He scheduled the giveaway for 3:30 p.m. on Friday — where he reportedly planned to dole out free PlayStation 5’s, computers, microphones and other gaming accessories.
Within half an hour of the scheduled meet-up, the crowd of nearly 1,000 youths descended into chaos — reportedly throwing traffic cones and brawling with each other.
They soon began attacking police officers, throwing objects at the police while screaming “F—k the PD” and other obscenities. Some of the attacks on officers were caught on aerial footage that was shown on live television broadcasts and later shared to X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the chaos, one officer was reportedly cut in the neck and had his gun taken from him, according to several eyewitnesses, though that has not been confirmed by the NYPD.
As police sources have described the incident as a “full-on riot,” the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) riot squad was called to the park to help quell the chaos.
One motorist who was stranded inside the riot told the New York Post that she almost got trampled by the crowd of teens. Another woman reported hiding inside a local bank for over two hours to escape the chaos.
An MTA bus was used to transport dozens of arrested teenagers, according to the Post. The NYPD reportedly managed to dissipate the crowd just before 6 p.m. local time, though the damage had already been done — as the streets are littered with trash, chairs, tables and toppled barricades.
Cenat was reportedly escorted out of the crowd by police during the riot. He has been taken into custody for questioning, and an NYPD spokesperson noted during a press conference that they are considering charging him with inciting a riot.
Social media users blasted New York City’s soft-on-crime policies for allowing incidents like this to happen, and called out the decaying culture for promoting degenerate behavior that leads to teenagers behaving like this in public.
“It’s like a slow motion purge,” wrote journalist and podcast host Tim Pool, sharing a clip of rioters dancing on and destroying a parked car.
“Democrat run cities across the nation are characterized by extreme poverty, lawlessness, homelessness, and drug use. They should serve as a warning to the nation. Keep falling for the lies of the Left, and this will be the norm in every town in America,” wrote David Giglio.
