Officials in Minneapolis said property damage due to looting and vandalism that followed protests over the death of George Floyd has caused at least $55 million in destruction.
Around 220 buildings were damaged or set ablaze in the city where Floyd died in police custody on Memorial Day, according to officials cited by local news outlet CBSN Minnesota who believe the tally of property destruction is likely to rise.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is expected to ask for state and federal aid to help repair the city after the wave of civil unrest, which has abated in recent days as the National Guard was brought in to support local law enforcement.
“Were going to need a really big package,” Frey said during a tour of the wreckage, the New York Post reported.
Local lawmakers reviewed the damage firsthand Thursday in tours of the hardest-hit areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“We definitely need all the help we can get from the state,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told Fox9 in an interview during the tour. “We havent quantified [the damage] yet. Im hopeful well have specific numbers very soon. But one thing thats clear at the beginning is, its going to be staggering.”
Ahead of any potential aid package, local community members and organizations are looking to support damaged neighborhoods. According to a donation page headlined by the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition and the Northside Funders Group, a campaign to support Minnesota businesses damaged in the looting has already raised over $1.4 million.
Theresa Swaney of the Lake Street Council, a local nonprofit engaged in fundraising, told ABC News that around $4.5 million has been raised to rebuild the historic Lake Street area of Minneapolis.
Swaney said many of the businesses were already struggling due to the pandemic, and the riots exacerbated their pain.
“Id say its more than a double hit, a triple, quadruple, hit,” she told ABC, adding that the looting and fires have affected every single Lake Street business in one way or another.
“A lot of them cant even reopen now because theyve been looted; they have no inventory, they have no shelves,” she added. “Its going to take a lot for them to reopen and be able to serve their communities.”
The Lake Street area is known for its large Latino and Somali American population, with Swaney saying that many of the businesses along the 6-mile strip are “either owned by immigrants or people of color.”
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