Police officer injured by apparent looter in Minneapolis

A police officer on duty in Minneapolis was injured by an apparent looter after a few days of rioting as a result of a false report of a police shooting, according to TMZ.

The officer was calmly walking back to his unit on Wednesday night when a metal garbage can lid was thrown and struck him squarely in the neck. He was knocked down and his fellow officers came to his aid.

Fortunately, the officer's injuries are not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery, according to a spokesperson from the Minneapolis Police Department.

Demonstrators in Minneapolis have been rioting and protesting because they beleived that a black man was fatally shot by the police—only the man took his own life, and the account of the police-involced shooting was a false report.

Police, along with the Minneapolis mayor's office and many community activists of conscience are working diligently to try and dispel the rumours still circulating. So far, 33 arrests have been made this week in Minneapolis in connection with further rioting.

Rioters looted multiple stores in downtown Minneapolis after the man, a homicide suspect, took his own life at the Nicollet Mall.

Social media footage caught suspects breaching a Saks 5th Avenue store. KMSP-TV journalist Courtney Godfrey reported that law enforcement deployed pepper spray to disperse the crowd, making arrests a block away from the incident.

Haskell's liquor store, the Medical Arts building, and Nordstrom were also subjected to looting earlier in the evening.

Others vandalized merchandise in a Target store and smashed windows of surrounding businesses.

The MPD posted a video on Twitter clearly showing the man involved turned his gun on himself and committed suicide while the police were closing in on him in an attempt to apprehend him.

They later that same day took the video down, and released a statement to clarify, saying, "MPD posted a video in order to dispel rumors that caused significant public safety concerns for our city. After receiving feedback from the community, we have removed the video due to the graphic nature and out of respect to the individual, his family and the community."