NASCAR Hall of Fame windows broken during Charlotte protests
Windows at the NASCAR Hall of Fame were broken Wednesday night during violent protests in downtown Charlotte.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority confirmed the damage to the exterior windows at the Charlotte Convention Center and the Hall of Fame. There was also damage to a Buffalo Wild Wings in the Hall of Fame building.
The Hall of Fame will be open as scheduled on Thursday.
“We do have events scheduled to take place in the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame today and in the coming days,” a statement from the CRVA said. “The safety of those meeting attendees who have traveled significant distances to convene in Charlotte is especially important to us and we’re working to take appropriate security precautions in collaboration with our partners at CMPD. We’ll continue to assess and communicate with our partners throughout the day.”
The protests started after Keith Scott, a black man, was killed by police while in the parking lot of his condo complex. While police have not released the camera footage of the incident from dashboard and body cameras, police say Scott had a gun. The claim of Scott being armed is countered by his friends and family.
Wednesday night was the second night of demonstrations in downtown Charlotte and the NASCAR Hall of Fame building wasn’t the only one that took the brunt of violence at the hands of a small number of the people gathered to demonstrate.
On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters who were shouting “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot” left after police fired flash grenades and tear gas after the shooting. But several groups of a dozen or more protesters stayed behind, attacking people, including reporters, shattering windows to hotels, office buildings and restaurants and setting small fires.
The Epicentre, the Charlotte Hornets team store, a Hyatt House and other properties in Uptown Charlotte were also damaged. NASCAR’s offices in Charlotte are closed for normal business Thursday according to ESPN.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
