Getty Dallas, Texas
A viral video shows a man in Dallas, Texas being severely beaten by a crowd of “looters,” according to a correspondent for Blaze TV, who is in the city to give “Live Dallas Riot Updates,” according to his Twitter page. Be forewarned that the video is extremely disturbing. However, police say the man was armed with a machete outside House of Blues because he said he was trying to protect his neighborhood, and an eyewitness says the man was a “vigilante” who “pulled a sword on a teen.”
Elijah Schaffer of Blaze TV posted the video and wrote, “BREAKING: man critically injured at Dallas riots. It appears he attempted to defend a shop with a large sword. Looters ran at him, then he charged rioters. They then beat him with a skateboard and stoned him with medium sized rocks. I called an Ambulance and it’s on the way.”
The page continued, “Some people were concerned. Others laughed at him. And many more continued to loot high end stores around him while he bled out on the assault.”
Asked about the incident by Heavy, Dallas police spokesman Carlos Almeida responded, “We are trying to obtain information, but have very little at this time. The victim was transported away before officers arrived. The call came in as a stabbing call at the House of Blues. I just learned he is in stable condition.”
He then followed up with more details: “The victim went to the 2200 block of N. Lamar Street (House of Blues) carrying a machete to allegedly protect his neighborhood from protesters. The victim confronted protesters while holding the machete and was subsequently assaulted by the protesters. He was transported to an area hospital where he remains in stable condition. This remains an ongoing investigation.”
Another angle of the sword guy
This video apparently agrees with my perspective the man was attempting to protect his store
Got foolish
Rushed rioters
Nearly lost his life
Has nothing to do with black vs white
Shop owner vs rioters is all
Yoel Measho, a college student and videographer took part in the protest, and described what he saw to Intercept. He said that the man with the machete “pulled it out and threatened the skateboarder.” He added that there was “no violence or looting of any kind” at the time of that confrontation.
He posted this video to his Instagram page and wrote, “If you see this video on twitter the story is skewed, not the full truth, and narrative turned against the protestors, this was NOT the owner of the store as the DPD Confirmed. This was a ‘vigilante’ outside a store who pulled a sword on a teen skating ahead of the protestors and threaten him when there was no violence or looting of any kind and people witness stepped in to protect him. The kid had a huge slash in his hand, under no circumstances does anyone deserve to get beat like this but this is his fault. Do not believe the story of ‘looters attacked innocent white man’ when the Twitter video was cropped to make protestors look bad. stay safe stay woke.”
Cassandra Jaramillo, a Dallas Morning News reporter, wrote on Twitter, “DPD source tells me man who was seen getting attacked in a graphic viral video by a group of protesters is in bad shape, but hanging on. His body was literally twisted from getting stomped on and kicked. Happened near House of Blues. Working to get more info #DallasProtests.”
In another post, Schaffer wrote, “It’s getting too risky out here. Ive never said this at a protest. This is a riot. This is different. Police are nowhere to be seen. Rioters are cracking open ATMs now. Destroying everything they can. Absolute lawlessness. The city of Dallas mourns as it falls apart tonight.”
The victim’s name is unknown.
Here’s what you need to know:
Volunteer Medics Were Trying to Help the Man, Schaffer Wrote
Here is the critically injured man being tender to by volunteer medics
Schaffer also posted this picture, saying the man was being tended to by “volunteer medics.”
A series of other intense videos also emerged from cities throughout the country as George Floyd protests and riots escalated into violence in some areas. For example, in Chicago there was an all-out street brawl between police officers and protesters, according to this video. In Atlanta, a video caught a bicycle officer shoving a bike at a woman. Protesters threw an American flag in a river outside Trump Tower in Chicago. In Oakland, a federal protection officer was shot and killed. In New York City, videos captured two NYPD squad cars running over protesters. In Salt Lake City, a man with a bow and arrow was taken down by protesters.
The Dallas incident was part of a series of protests and riots that escalated throughout the United States in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd died, Chauvin and three other officers were fired, and Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Businesses were torched and looted in Minneapolis, and the protests and riots then spread throughout the country in many major cities, with some peaceful and some not.
The Dallas Police Department’s Twitter page was full of a cascade of reports about different incidents on May 30. Some examples:
“A different group of protesters, roughly 100 in number, blocked off I35 E northbound near the Commerce exit. They are no longer on the freeway, traffic has resumed and officers are looking for the violators.”
“Individuals are looting the Whole Foods located in the 2500 block of McKinney Avenue.”
Due to social media posts threatening looting, @NorthParkCenter and the @GalleriaDallas are closed. @ChiefHallDPD @CityOfDallas
“Approximately 150 protesters looted a cigar and donut shop at the intersection of Elm and Lamar Streets. Officers are looking for the perpetrators.”
“SWAT deployed tear gas at the corner of Commerce and Browder Street to disperse unruly protesters.”
READ NEXT: Officer Derek Chauvin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know