Looters besieged Macy’s iconic Herald Square store in New York City Monday evening as police brought in to enforce an 11 p.m. curfew set by the city’s mayor struggled to control and apprehend an overwhelming crowd that smashed windows and damaged property at the store.
Shortly after the curfew began, police were bringing out a third looting suspect, according to a Fox News crew at the scene.
As the curfew approached, bands of protesters were evident throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and police attempted to respond to multiple reports of roving groups smashing their way into shops and emptying them of merchandise, the Associated Press reported.
Video posted on social media showed some protesters arguing with people breaking store windows and urging them to stop, the AP reported, but vandalism and smash-and-grab thefts continued unabated.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the violence from the past two evenings — which left stores ransacked and police vehicles burned — left them no choice but to impose a curfew, even as they insisted they stood with the throngs of peaceful demonstrators, some of whom interacted peacefully with police at earlier demonstrations.
“We can’t let violence undermine the message of this moment,” de Blasio said in a statement. Cuomo blamed “people who are looking to distract and discredit” the protests and said they couldn’t be allowed to undermine public safety.
The two leaders insisted many more police officers would be deployed Monday night.
"Tonight, to protect against violence and property damage, the governor and I have decided to implement a citywide curfew," de Blasio said in a statement.
Fox News' Bryan Llenas and the Associated Press contributed to this report
