London burns as youths run riot after shooting

In one of the worst riots in the UK, mob torched several vehicles and buildings and clashed with security forces in an economically poor area of London overnight , injuring 26 officers, after police shot dead a 29-year-old local.

The protest was against the Thursday killing of resident Mark Duggan by police teams dealing with gun crime in Tottenham, dominated by the Afro-Caribbean community . Over 26 police officers were injured as angry groups of people engaged in pitched fights with riot police.

The police said 42 people were taken into custody. Emergency services worked to restore order and the situation was brought under control by Sunday.
About 300 people had gathered outside a police station on the Tottenham High Road last evening demanding justice. The protest was initially peaceful but turned violent overnight as mobs went on a rampage outside the police station.

"The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable ," a Downing Street spokesman said. "There is no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property. There is now a police investigation into the rioting and we should let that process happen," the statement said.

The last time similar trouble erupted in the area was in 1985, when a police officer was hacked to death with a machete in Tottenham, after he was set upon by a mob.