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A video game giveaway caused havoc in New York City Friday after thousands of people flocked Union Square Park hoping to be a the lucky winner.
Popular comedy Twitch streamer Kai Cenat announced a few of his fans could win free Playstation 5 consoles at 4 p.m. in Union Square, eventually leading to the swarm of people. Police say they struggled to contain the thousands of people who took over took the park and the roads.
The YouTuber posted a photo of ABC7’s aerial footage of the crowd on his Instagram story.
Arrests have been made but the New York Police Department told USA TODAY they can’t give a concrete number of how many arrests and injuries have occurred as of Friday evening.
“At approximately 3 p.m., the post went viral and thousands of people began to arrive at Union Square. Soon the park and the surrounding streets were overrun with people. They were obstructing vehicular and pedestrian traffic,” New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference Friday. “After numerous warnings and being assailed [and] hit with rocks, bottles and other debris, we started to make arrests to clear out the park.
Officers eventually removed Cenat for safety purposes and he was in police custody early Friday evening, Maddrey said. He added that several people in the crowd sustained injuries, as well as some officers.
Cenate will be face multiple criminal charges including at least unlawful assembly and inciting a riot, Maddrey said at a second press conference Friday evening.
Much of the crowd had left the area by 7 p.m., but officers were continuing to monitor some groups that were moving around Manhattan, Maddrey said.
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Maddrey said officers have been in contact with Cenat but that he will speak with department leaders before deciding whether and what action to take against the influencer.
The mass of people reportedly threw objects at officers requiring them to take cover behind cars and holding pieces of plywood, according to ABC7. Some people in the crowd threw paint cans and other equipment while others climbed up the a gazebo and the George Washington statue.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said all subway trains were functioning after the swam of people bypassed a stop near Union Square Park for a short time.
USA TODAY has reached out to Cenat’s representatives for comment.
Maddrey said the department will work to find ways to prevent future occurrences.
“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,” Maddrey said. “We have encounted 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.”
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