Vancouver Canucks’ Fans Riot Following Stanley Cup Finals Loss
This morning Vancouver officials were left reeling as Canucks’ fans ran wild late last night burning cars, breaking windows and looting, following a 4-0 loss to Boston in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals
“It’s absolutely disgraceful,” Mayor Gregor Robertson told reporters last night, adding that police were being brought in from outside the city to stop the violence. “We will deal with the troublemakers.”
According to Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional hospital authority, around 140 people were treated for various injuries including stabbings and exposure to tear gas and pepper spray. There have been no reported fatalities as of yet.
What started as a relatively quiet night, disheartened fans flooding the downtown streets following their team’s loss, quickly escalated into mayhem as individuals set fire to a stuffed bear decorated to symbolize the Bruins. Others sang a drunken tune as they danced on an overturned vehicle.
From there, things continued to spiral downward as people began to turn to looting, breaking into a Bay department store and escaping with anything they could get their hands on, from MAC cosmetics, to T-shirts, to expensive Coach purses.
Sears and Chapters stores were also looted, their glass fronts smashed. For many, the ugly chaos made the Cup loss an afterthought.
“This isn’t what the Canucks are about,” said one local resident and Canucks fan. “This isn’t what their fans are about. This isn’t what this city is about.”
The 2011 Vancouver riots aren’t the first time that the British Columbia city has experienced such chaotic events. In 1994 a similar scene erupted following the Canucks’ devastating game 7 loss to the New York Rangers.
The following video shows some of the crazy footage from the riots including burning cars, vandalism, and arrests being made.
