VANCOUVER, B.C, Canada - Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in the world, highly regarded by many around the world. However when the residents awoke Thursday to the aftermath of the city's worst riot in decades, facing a massive cleanup and questions about how the mob fury came to be unleashed after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins.City crews and glass repair companies were still working to repair the smashed windows of about a dozen businesses targeted by rioters and looters in the downtown core as the sun rose over the city early Thursday morning.
Worst hit were Hudson's Bay, London Drugs, Bank of Montreal and a car rental agency on West Georgia Street, and the Sears, Future Shop and Chapters stores on Robson Street.- Crews were working hard to sweep up, replace the glass and board the windows as office workers arriving for work looked on in disbelief and confusion, and snapped photos of the mess.
- There were stabbings, numerous cars set on fire, and marquee stores looted throughout the downtown area, as police used tear gas and pepper spray to try – mostly unsuccessfully – to quell the ugly outbreak of violence. At least one person is listed in critical condition.
It was the first unleashing of tear gas in the city since the infamous Stanley Cup riots that erupted in 1994, when the Canucks also lost the seventh game of the Cup final. This rioting was worse. It began immediately after the final whistle. Individuals among the 100,000 or so watching the game downtown started fighting, overturning port-a-potties and torching nearby vehicles. Hundreds then gravitated to other downtown areas to create havoc.
It was an outbreak few expected. Police had emphasized repeatedly in the days leading up to Wednesday night’s hockey showdown that they had learned from 1994 and knew how to contain crowds.
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