Bloomington mayor says looters shoved him at Eastland Mall

Mayor Tari Renner during a NAACP rally Sunday night in downtown Bloomington. (Facebook/Tari Renner)

 

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – A local leader went out Monday night to try and speak with looters at Eastland Mall, but the group turned to violence instead.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner said he was assaulted by a small group of men who were looting at the mall. Renner told WJBC’s Scott Miller he wanted to speak with the group, but they had absolutely nothing to say.

“BPD had stuff well under control and they deserve our great admiration for how they are handling this,” Renner said. “We can’t put up with this kind of crap, frankly. We are a civilized society and this is unacceptable behavior.”

Renner said he was pushed down and a person tried to punch him. The mayor said he was not injured.

The Kohl’s at Eastland Mall was broken into Monday night, along with several other businesses around the Twin-Cities. Bloomington Police told our news partner HOI ABC about 20 looters were arrested.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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