Music: {allcanada} Riot police try to control crowds in downtown Vancouver

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

{allcanada} Riot police try to control crowds in downtown Vancouver

Riot police fired rubber bullets and flash bombs in downtown Vancouver Wednesday night to try to disperse angry hockey fans who set cars on fire and started fistfights after the Canucks' 4-0 Stanley Cup final loss to the Boston Bruins.

Police have declared the downtown fan zone area near the CBC building and the central post office a riot zone, Ian Hanomansing of CBC News reported. Anyone not leaving the West Georgia Street area immediately would be arrested, they warned.

Police were using batons and also turned police dogs on protesters, slowly pushing the crowd back along Georgia Street from Hamilton Street to Cambie Street.

A number of cars had been set on fire in a parkade at West Georgia Street and Seymour Street.

Protesters were seen jumping on a pair of police cars in a parking lot on Cambie Street. One of the cars had been turned on its side but later was righted.

Game was winding down

Trouble started in the closing seconds of the game when a thick plume of smoke, believed to be from fireworks, wafted above the crowd on West Georgia Street in front of the central post office building. Moments later, a car burst into flames and fights broke out.

B.C. Ambulance confirmed that a man had fallen or jumped off a bridge called the Dunsmuir Viaduct and had been taken to hospital.

There were no other injuries reported, but there have been numerous arrests.

Glass windows were broken at the Bank of Montreal on West Georgia and at the Hudson's Bay.

In addition, a fire was reported at a parkade on Seymour Street. Few details were available, but reports indicated several cars were on fire. There were also reports of garbage cans and portable toilets on fire throughout the downtown core.

Reports also indicated localized looting underway in several downtown locations.

Earlier, before and during the game, fans were packed tight but good-natured as they cheered on their team, which had won at home in every previous game against Boston in this Stanley Cup final series.