Riots Erupt in London

A candlelight vigil held for Mark Duggan, who was killed by police on Thursday, erupted into riots in Tottenham, London last night after riot cops on the scene allegedly beat a 16-year-old girl who had thrown a stone at them.

Cars were set on fire; shop windows were broken and stores looted; eight police officers were reportedly hospitalized and at least 42 rioters arrested. Tottenham, a lower-income neighborhood with a large black population, was the site of riots in 1985 in not too dissimilar circumstances, in that case the death of a woman during a police search of her home. Former Gawker editor Ravi Somaiya, at the Wood Green shopping miles a few miles away, described the scene as "Complete anarchy, no authority in sight."

Rioters were dispersed early Sunday morning; cleanup of the damage (which, as the photos show, was extensive) has already begun. The Prime Minister's Office issued a terse statement:

The rioting in Tottenham last night was utterly unacceptable.
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.

[above image via Getty, AFP, Nico Hogg]