Gaming giveaway: police action after fans of young influencer create ruckus in New York

A New York gathering called by a popular 21-year-old online influencer drew an unexpectedly large crowd on Friday and degenerated into violence that left several people injured prompting a massive police turnout.

It all started with a posting on Instagram from American YouTuber Kai Cenat, calling on fans to meet him in lower Manhattan for a live-streamed event where he would hand out gifts including PlayStation 5 game consoles.

Thousands of young people at least 2,000 according to US media gathered very quickly on Union Square and surrounding streets in the hopes of seeing Cenat, who has millions of followers on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram and other social media.

As the streets heaved, young men started throwing objects from a nearby construction site, targeting people in the crowd and the police, who were rapidly deployed in large numbers. Television footage and news photographs showed rioters surrounding and blocking vehicles, with young men kicking and smashing some of the cars.

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