Hackney shops smashed amid fears of further unrest

The T-Mobile shop in Kingsland Shopping Centre, Dalston, was broken into last night. Photograph: Hackney Citizen

Dalston’s Kingsland Shopping Centre was broken into around midnight last night (Sunday 7 August) and several shops were looted, as north London experienced a second night of rioting following the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan in nearby Tottenham.

Sports shop Foot Locker bore the brunt of the violence, whilst attempts to break into neighbouring JD Sports were unsuccessful. T Mobile also suffered broken doors, though no stock was taken as it is kept  in secure cases.

Around the corner in Sandringham Road, the Argos store showed signs of an attempted burglary, and down the road in Haggerston, the Tesco Express at 284 Kingsland Road had its windows shattered.

According to Hackney Police, a group of approximately 20 males were seen making their way into the shopping centre and burgled two sports shops, Foot Locker and T-Mobile. They also attempt to burgle JD Sports.

The police arrived within minutes and gave chase. Twelve male suspects were arrested at the scene for burglary and criminal damage.

Eleven of the suspects are aged between 15 and 23 years old. They are being held at police stations across London. One suspect has been bailed to a later date, due to requiring medical treatment.

The shopping centres within Hackney have extensive CCTV coverage, which enabled the police to respond and make arrests last night. The police say they will continue to be carefully monitored as they conduct reassurance patrols.

Hackney was so far escaped the widespread looting and burning that took place in Tottenham, Enfield, and other parts of north London.

Fears of disturbance had led the authorities to cancel yesterday’s Hackney One Carnival.

Many shops in central Hackney pulled their shutters down earlier this afternoon as a precautionary measure, though the police said they had not formally advised them to do so.

A shopkeeper in Narrow Way, just north of Mare Street, who wished to remain anonymous said: “The word went round at around 1pm that there might be trouble, so we pulled our shutters down. ”

Many shops, such as Marks and Spencer and JD Sports, closed their their doors, whilst McDonald’s and others remained open.