Riot unfolds as thousands gather at NYC's Union Square for free giveaway

A chaotic scene unfolded in New York City on August 4, when thousands of people gathered at Union Square Park after Twitch streamer Kai Cenat promised to give away free Playstation 5 consoles.

The crowd became unruly and violent, throwing objects at each other and at the police, who tried to disperse them, The Hindustan Times reports

Cenat, is a popular comedian on Twitch and YouTube, who announced on his social media that he would hand out free PS5s to some of his fans at 4 pm in Union Square. His post went viral and attracted a huge crowd of people, who blocked the traffic and the subway station near the park.

Cenat posted a photo of the crowd on his Instagram story, showing the massive turnout for his giveaway. However, things quickly got out of hand, as the crowd became aggressive and disorderly. Some people climbed on a gazebo and a statue of George Washington, while others threw paint cans and other items at the police.

The police said they were assaulted and hit with rocks, bottles, and other debris, as they tried to clear out the park. They also said they arrested several people, but did not give an exact number as of early August 4 evening. They also said they took Cenat into custody for safety reasons, and that they would discuss with their legal department about possible charges against him.

“Most of it was within the park. The young people in the park were throwing objects at each other. They were dancing. They were doing a whole lot of stuff but they were hurting each other while doing it,” New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference Friday.

“We have encountered things like this before but never to this level of dangerousness where young people would not listen to our commands, they were fighting each other, they were hurting each other and they were turning their attacks on us,” he added.

Maddrey said that several people in the crowd and some officers sustained injuries during the incident. He also said that most of the crowd had left the area by 7 pm, but that some groups were still roaming around Manhattan.

NYPD police chief said the department would work to prevent future occurrences like this.