Copycat criminality

British police arrested more than 100 people in London after a second night of riots broke out in districts across London on Sunday.

Nine policemen were injured in what police described as "copycat criminality" following Saturday's violent riots in Tottenham, north London.

In the north London suburb of Enfield, youths attacked shops and a police car. In the early hours of Monday morning, disturbances were also reported in the southern district of Brixton, where shops were looted and set ablaze.

In the city's Oxford Circus area, sporadic violence was reported as a mob of about 50 youths damaged property.

London police said on Sunday they had launched a "major investigation" into the capital's worst disorder in years.

Shops looted

Crowds attacked police and torched squad cars on Saturday night when the protest turned violent. One policeman suffered a head injury as around 200 people rained petrol bombs and missiles on riot police.

A further seven police officers were injured, and 61 arrests were made between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Rioters also set a shop and a double-decker bus ablaze as they went on a rampage outside a police station on the district's main thoroughfare.

"A number of bottles were thrown at these two cars. One was set alight and the second was pushed into the middle of the High Road. It was subsequently set alight," said a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police.

The crowds kicked in shop windows on Tottenham High Road, and looters were seen pushing away shopping carts full of stolen goods.

A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron called the rioting "unacceptable" and said there was "no justification" for the aggression the police and the public faced or to damage to property.

Local tensions

The riots followed a peaceful protest march that was organized by the friends and family of a man who was shot dead by police on Thursday.

A taxi-driver, Mark Duggan, was killed in an apparent exchange of gunfire after authorities stopped his cab. The 29-year-old father of four died at the scene after an exchange of gunfire. Police have said an independent watchdog is investigating his death.

The area of Tottenham has one of the highest unemployment rates in London and a history of racial tension. There is a high number of ethnic minorities, and many young people resent police behavior, especially the use of stop-and-search powers.

Saturday night's disorder was also close to where one of Britain's most notorious race riots occurred in 1985, when a police officer was stabbed to death on a housing estate during widespread disturbances.

Police have come under fire for their handling of recent incidents of unrest. Student and trade union protests in November and March turned violent.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill, Richard Connor (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Nancy Isenson