The catalyst for the riots was the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police in Tottenham 鈥� a district in north London where race riots erupted in 1985.
Many of the details about why Mr. Duggan became involved in a clash with police and what happened are fuzzy, the Guardian reports. What is known is that Duggan grew up in Tottenham and when police approached him. Initial reports suggested that Duggan shot first, hitting a police radio, but later reports said that the bullet lodged in the radio was a police-issued bullet.
Reports indicate that Duggan and to other north London gangs, according to a Guardian profile. He was under investigation by a police unit that oversees gun crimes in the black community.
However, his relatives denied that Duggan 鈥� a father of three 鈥� was involved in gangs and said he was a family man who would not have shot at police.
