Here's What the Mission Riots Looked Like After the Giants' Victory
Multiple traffic lights were molested last night as crowds of fans flocked to San Francisco's Mission District following the Giants' World Series victory. As the riot grew in size and SFPD officers began losing control of the situation, dozens of fires were ignited as helicopters beaming spotlights swarmed overhead.
The crowds were notably smaller than past World Series victory riots in the Mission. And the destruction appears to be far less severe. Nevertheless, rioters still managed to turn the victory into a spectacle.
Despite the allure of fires and celebratory drum circles, local men adamantly climbed, humped, and destroyed local traffic signage.
SFPD visibly tried to manage the mob, putting out fires and keeping people off Mission Street.
Residents initially focused on celebrating, with dance parties and parades breaking out along 24th Street. But the crowds eventually took Mission Street, and bros began posing on top of fires of photos.
Naturally, at least one drone flew overhead filming the fires:
The sense of jubilation turned violent. The crowds attacked Vida—a luxury condo development that's marketed like a theme park—throwing rocks and concrete at the building's windows. Vida's construction was largely welcomed by local progressive activists, but its garish zigzagging facade sticks out on an unevenly gentrified street.
Later in the night, someone lit the construction site shared by Vida and the neighboring Alamo Drafthouse on fire.
And the mob voiced their resentment of the police and public busing out on walls:
In the center of the rapidly changing Mission, rioters also tagged their frustration with the influx of Silicon Valley wealth.
And one Google bus was reportedly attacked:
Watched a mob of people converge on this tech bus, throw glass bottles at it, and tag it, yelling "fuck Google." pic.twitter.com/gmIZ6wHygi
— Joe Veix (@joeveix) October 30, 2014
As the night wore on and the crowds began thinning, a sizable group of rioters began chanting "TECHIES" while hurling bottles and other debris at 20 Mission, a startup hostel and co-working space on Mission Street. At least one resident's window was shattered.
Similarly, Lyft's iconic pink mustaches were turned into kindling on Valencia Street.
This encapsulated a lot of what happened last night. Hooligan steals @lyft drivers mustache, burns it in bonfire. pic.twitter.com/k24TvaYk3L
— Kyle Kelly-Yahner (@KyleKellyYahner) October 30, 2014
Violence largely dominated a night that should have been a celebration for the city. TV host Veronica Belmont found herself locked inside a Mission Street bar because of the chaos outside, and summed up the situation on Instagram perfectly:
Well, as usual things got a little out of control after the #WorldSeries win. We went for a drink in the Mission and ended up being locked inside the bar for our safety (no one in or out). Hard to see here but there's a line of full riot cop police outside. People were burning shit in the street and throwing rocks at new construction. Maybe some of it was bridge and tunnel hooligans, but I don't think all of it was. Why do this to your own neighborhood?
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