Police in riot gear rallied in downtown Vancouver Wednesday night as hooligans set fires, vandalized property, and looted stores, including the iconic Bay store on Granville Street.
Several cars were set on fire and people were climbing light poles and other structures in the wake of the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Liquor stores were being broken into, and numerous fires were set in downtown Vancouver and police released tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Leader photographer Boaz Joseph was on scene and witnessed an RCMP vehicle being overturned, fist fights, and newspaper boxes being tossed into the streets. (Photo below and watch his video here).
CBC reported that trouble started in the closing seconds of the game when a thick plume of smoke wafted above the crowd on West Georgia Street in front of the central post office building, believed to be from fireworks.
Moments later, a car burst into flames and fights broke out. Then, a second car was flipped and burst into flames.
Unlike the Canucks previous losses in the series, the crowds did not disperse quickly from the fan zones, .
RCMP detachments, including Surrey’s and North Vancouver’s, were called to the scene in Vancouver. Tear gas was fired on Granville and Georgia Streets.
