Police are urging people to avoid Manhattan’s Union Square as they try to contain the fallout from a reported game console giveaway event.
A crowd of several hundred people filled the park Friday afternoon for what was billed as an event from popular Twitch streamer and YouTube creator Kai Cenat. The “HUGE GIVEAWAY,” which promised free PlayStation consoles and gift cards, was scheduled for 4 p.m., but hundreds had already filled the square by 3 p.m.
What exactly sparked the crowd to turn unruly isn’t yet clear, but by 3:30 p.m. people were seen throwing garbage at police and taking down barriers around the perimeter. Witnesses reported seeing some people throwing chairs and bottles. One young person had a bruise on his face and he said he was pushed to the ground.
The NYPD estimates a “couple thousand people” were in Union Square around 4 p.m., prompting the highest level of police mobilization. According to a spokesperson, the department called on an estimated one thousands officers to respond to the escalating situation.
Cenat was eventually pulled out from the massive crowd by police officers and placed into custody. A spokesperson confirmed police arrested the influencer and “numerous” other people in the crowd.
The chaos was far from contained to just the plaza. The size of the crowd extended into multiple streets, blocking E 14th Street and Broadway directly south of Union Square.
A number of cars attempting to pass by were swarmed by the overwhelming size of the crowd and forced to a halt. Chopper video shows a handful of people in the crowd climbing on top of some of those cars as well as a food cart nearby.
As police fight to reestablish control of the area and disperse the crowd, the department has advised people to stay clear of the area around Union Square.
Drivers should expect significant delays during the evening rush hour, but so should commuters on public transit. The MTA has trains completely passing the station below Union Square in both directions for about an hour. Regular service resumed shortly before 5 p.m.
Despite the pandemonium, police have said there were no reports of any significant injuries in the first hour of the event fallout.
One young person who had initially attended the event told News 4 he decided to leave after feeling worried about his personal safety. But he and a friend turned back around, he said, because “it’s not every day you see a famous person.”
Who is Kai Cenat?
Kai Cenat, who police said organized the giveaway that led to the chaotic scene, is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber who has been making online content since 2018, when he was still in high school. He is known for having a large fanbase, and in Feb. 2023, became the most-subscribed Twitch streamer of all time, with more than 100,000 subscribers.
He’s won awards for his content, which includes videos of him doing various challenges, online pranks and more. In addition to those videos, he gained following for videos where he chatted with viewers on his Twitch channel, which he started in 2021.
While it didn’t appear that Friday’s stunt was a prank of any sort, he has done other prank videos like pretending to break his brother’s PlayStation 4 controller, or knocking on neighbors doors and running away — a video which became his first one to break a million views.
from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/548QeMj
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