London riots claim first fatality after man dies in hospital

A man passes a burned out vehicle in Peckham, suburb of London, UK, early August 9, 2011. British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday vowed to do "whatever is necessary" to restore order to the streets of Britain troubled by rioting for more than three days.





LONDON, Aug. 9 -- Riots which rocked the British capital since Saturday and swept across the country claimed its first toll on Tuesday, after a man shot in a car during the unrest died in hospital in London.



Police said the 26-year-old man was discovered in a car Monday night in Croydon, a south London suburb, as the rioting broke out in the area. He had suffered from multiple gun shot wounds.



Hundreds of people, including police officers have so far been injured, as the rioting quickly spread from London to other major British cities.



The three days of unrest began Saturday when a peaceful protest led by relatives of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, who was shot dead on Thursday night in a police raid in the Tottenham area of north London, turned violent.



In London, hooded young people ransacked shops, burned cars and buildings, and attacked police officers with stones, bottles and fireworks.



By Tuesday, the rioting had spread to other cities including Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.



At least 500 people were arrested and 100 charged over rioting and looting, with British Prime Minister promising more if the violence continued.



Address the press Tuesday noon after cutting short of his holiday in Italy earlier in the day, Cameron described the "sickening scenes" caused by the rioters as "criminality pure and simple."



The Prime Minister, who chaired a meeting of the national disaster management committee, the Cobra Committee, at his Downing Street office, also said he would recalled the Parliament from its summer recess on Thursday, so that he could make a statement regarding the rioting.



All leave for police were cancelled, according to Cameron, who pledged to bring in reinforcements from around the country. Ten thousand extra police officers would be deployed in London, bringing the total number to 16,000.



(Xinhua)