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Nearly 150 hurt in Vancouver riot following loss

Canucks fans jump onto a destroyed car during a riot in Vancouver, Canada, June 15, 2011. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)
Canucks fans jump onto a destroyed car during a riot in Vancouver, Canada, June 15, 2011. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)
Riot police look on as two police cars burn during a riot in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia Wednesday, June 15, 2011 following the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley Cup hockey final.(AP-Yonhap News)
Riot police look on as two police cars burn during a riot in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia Wednesday, June 15, 2011 following the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley Cup hockey final.(AP-Yonhap News)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) _ Almost 150 people required hospital treatment and close to 100 were arrested after rioters swept through downtown Vancouver following a Canucks loss to the Boston Bruins in the decisive Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

Vancouver Coastal Health spokeswoman Anna Marie D'Angelo said Thursday that three stabbing victims had been admitted and an unidentified man was in critical condition with head injuries after a fall from a viaduct.

She said most of the rioting victims were treated at St. Paul's Hospital, while about 40, including the stabbing cases and the head injury patient, were being treated at Vancouver General Hospital.

Rioting and looting left cars burned, stores in shambles and windows shattered over a roughly 10-block radius of the city's main shopping district.

Police Chief Jim Chu said nine officers were injured, including one who required 14 stitches after being hit with a thrown brick. Chu said some officers suffered bite marks. He said 15 cars were burned, including two police cars.

He called those who incited the riot ``criminals and anarchists'' and said officers identified some in the crowd as the same people who smashed windows and caused trouble through the same streets the day after the 2010 Winter Olympics opened in 2010.

``These were people who came equipped with masks, goggles and gasoline,'' he said. ``They had a plan.''

Chu said those who stood by and filmed and cheered also bear some responsibility.

Assistant Fire Chief Wade Pierlot said people had to be rescued from rooftops and bathrooms where they had hidden for safety. He said some people moved burning dumpsters away from buildings to prevent further damage.

In Boston, five men arrested during celebrations of the Bruins' win appeared in municipal court Thursday. Police said one man encouraged a crowd near TD Garden to turn on police and dared officers to arrest him. Authorities said when at first they didn't, he shouted obscenities, took off his shirt and threw his belt at the officers. He was arrested on charges including inciting a riot and disorderly conduct.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said ``organized hoodlums bent on creating chaos incited the riot'' and noted the city proved with the 2010 Winter Olympics that it could hold peaceful gatherings. A local business leader estimated more than 50 businesses were damaged.

``They were here to make trouble and they succeeded,'' Robertson said.

City councilor Suzanne Anton said the rioting has shaken Vancouver and overshadowed the hockey team's playoff run.

``I would never have believed that Vancouver would be a city where there would be looting,'' Anton said. ``I just feel such a profound sense of disappointment. We like to think we live in paradise here in Vancouver. It's hard to imagine here.''

It was similar to the scene that erupted in the city in 1994 following the Canucks' Game 7 loss to the New York Rangers.

Anton said there was no loss of life or police brutality in this latest incident. She said dozens of volunteers patrolled the city's entertainment strip on Thursday, picking up debris and garbage.

One of the volunteers, Al Cyrenne, carried his broom downtown to clean up the damage.

``I'm all choked up,'' he said, as he surveyed broken windows and debris on a downtown street.

``I can't believe the scene. Just talking about it brings me to tears. I can't believe the people of Vancouver would do this. It's just a few idiots.''

<한글 기사> 

조용한 밴쿠버에 폭동이? 이건 00 때문...

밴쿠버 경찰, 하키 경기후 폭동 100여명 체포

NHL 스탠리컵 경기서 홈팀 지자 방화•약탈 벌여

캐나다 밴쿠버시 경찰청은 16일 전미하키리그(NHL) 스탠리컵 경기 결승전 직후 도심 거리에서 일어난 폭동 현장에서 100여명을 체포, 조사중이라고 밝혔다.

짐 추 경찰청장은 이날 기자회견에서 거리 폭동의 주동자들은 폭력 장비를 갖추고 사전에 행동을 계획한 무정부주의자나 범죄자들이라고 규정하고 이들 중 일부는 지난해 밴쿠버동계올림픽 대회 당시 반대시위 주도자들과 동일인이라고 밝혔다.

거리 폭동은 전날 밴쿠버에서 열린 스탠리컵 결승 플레이오프 경기 최종 7차전 에서 홈팀인 캐넉스가 미국 보스턴의 브루인스에 4대0으로 패배, 40년 만에 처음 기 대하던 우승이 좌절된 직후 수천 명의 젊은이들이 중심가로 쏟아져 나오면서 오후 8 시부터 3시간 동안 계속됐다.

당시 거리에는 브리티시 컬럼비아(BC)주를 비롯해 전국 도시에서 현지 응원을 위해 10만 여명이 몰려들어 도심 시립도서관 광장 등에 설치된 대형 스크린으로 경기를 관전한 뒤 낙담과 좌절 속에 응원장소를 나서고 있었다.

폭동 주동자들은 번화가 대형 백화점과 은행 등 대형 건물의 유리창을 부수고 차량에 방화를 했으며, 일부 상점의 전자제품 등을 약탈하기도 했다고 밴쿠버 선지 등이 전했다.

경찰은 폭동 진압경찰을 현장에 배치하고 최루탄을 사용하며 군중을 강제 해산시켰고 사태는 하오 11시께 진정됐다.

이날 밴쿠버 시내 종합병원에는 타박상이나 찢어진 상처 치료를 위해 150여명의 부상자들이 몰렸다고 언론들은 전했다.

폭동으로 고급백화점 허드슨 베이, 종합 잡화점 런던드러그, 몬트리올은행 등 2 9개 도심 상가 시설과 경찰 차량을 포함해 모두 15대의 차량이 불타거나 뒤집히는 손해를 입었다. 피해액수는 수백만 달러로 추산됐다.

런던드러그의 와인 파월 회장은 건물 1층과 2층에서 일어난 시설 파괴와 약탈로 이 상점에서만 피해액수가 100만달러에 달한다고 말했다.

밴쿠버에서는 지난 1994년 스탠리컵 대회 때도 홈 경기 최종 결승에서 캐넉스가 패배하자 흥분한 관중이 거리로 나서 5시간 동안 폭동이 이어졌다.

시민들은 "그들은 하키팬도 아니고 밴쿠버 사람도 아니다"며 거리 폭력에 대해 비난의 목소리를 높였다.

추 청장은 현지에서 채증한 비디오 자료를 분석 중이라고 밝히고 주범들을 확정, 처벌하기 위해 시민들이 적극적으로 나서 사진자료 제출이나 목격사실 신고를 해 달라고 당부했다.

페이스북 등 온라인에서는 영상자료를 분석하며 폭동 가담자를 가려내는 자발적 활동이 이루어지고 있다고 CBC방송이 전했다.

이날 도심 폭동 현장에서는 이른 아침부터 시 작업반과 자원봉사자들이 청소를 하며 거리복구 활동을 벌였다.

(연합뉴스)
Rioters burn police cars after the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL's Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver. (AP-Yonhap News)
Rioters burn police cars after the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL's Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver. (AP-Yonhap News)

Police officers stand amongst debris after rioters moved through the area following the Vancouver Canucks being defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL Stanley Cup Final. (AP-Yonhap News)
Police officers stand amongst debris after rioters moved through the area following the Vancouver Canucks being defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL Stanley Cup Final. (AP-Yonhap News)


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