Between 6 and 11 August 2011, thousands of people rioted in several London Boroughs and in cities and towns across England. The resulting chaos generated looting, arson, and mass deployment of police. Disturbances began on 6 August after a protest in Tottenham, following the death of Mark Duggan, a local man who was shot dead by police on 4 August.
I visited Hackney on the night of the main riots. I witnessed the looting first hand. At the time it looked like a celebration by the local youth. An opportunistic free for all, with unlucky local businesses paying the price for the rioters' overspill of emotion. I also watched photographers, like myself, capturing the events, with the wide spread photographic evidence playing a central piece of evidence in the following round up of those carrying out the attacks. One of the photographers was chased and attacked with a bottle, pictured below. With five people dead, he got away lucky.
