Twitch Streamer Giveaway Causes Dangerous Mob Scene in New York’s Union Square
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor A crowd of several thousand people — lured by the promise of free PlayStation 5s by a popular Twitch streamer — descended on Union Square in New York City on Friday afternoon, and became violent and uncontrollable, according to police.
The Twitch influencer, Kai Cenat, along with a streamer known as Fanum had encouraged their followers to come to Union Square at 4 p.m.
in a social media posts about giving away multiple Sony PlayStation 5 game consoles. By 3 p.m., Cenat’s post went viral and the park was overrun with people well before Cenat was scheduled to arrive, NYPD officials said at a news conference Friday.
The crowd began attacking police and members of the public — throwing rocks, bottles and other debris and setting off fireworks, according to police.
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