2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot The 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot was a public disturbance that broke out in the downtown core of Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada on Wednesday , June 15 , 2011 . The riots happened immediately after the conclusion of the Boston Bruins ' win over the Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals , which won the Stanley Cup for Boston . At least 140 people were reported as injured during the incident , one critically ; at least four people were stabbed , nine police officers were injured , and 101 people were arrested that night , with 16 further arrests following the event . Background . City organizers had set up a two - block long fan zone on six - lane Georgia Street near the Rogers Arena . Two big screen TVs were set up for fans to watch the game . Temporary fences and gates were set up to provide checkpoints where police could control access to the area and check for alcohol ( which police generally poured out when found ) . Following recommendations stemming from the 1994 riot , all liquor stores in the area were closed earlier in the day . Crowds had been generally well - behaved in the fan zone for the previous six games , with roughly 70 , 000 attending each event . Similar though smaller events had been very successful during the 2010 Winter Olympics . For the final game , an estimated 100 , 000 people crowded into the area , and people found ways to enter the zone without being checked for alcohol . Planned corridors to allow movement of emergency vehicles became impassable . Riot . The riot began to take shape as the game came to a close at 7 : 45 pm , with some spectators throwing bottles and other objects at the large screens in the viewing area . Boston Bruins flags and Canuck jerseys were set afire , and soon some rioters overturned a vehicle in front of the main Canada Post headquarters . According to one eyewitness , a group who was heard chanting " Let ' s go riot , let ' s go riot " as early as the first period of the game were among those responsible for flipping the first car . Fist fights broke out when people standing on porta - potties fell when others tipped the porta - potties over . People began jumping on the car that had been first overturned , and then it was set afire . With a crowd of onlookers chanting " burn the truck " , a second vehicle in the same area was lit . Firemen were able to put it out , but the truck was again set afire after it was overturned . In a nearby parking lot , two Vancouver Police squad cars were later also set on fire . In total , 17 cars were burned , including police cars . Windows were smashed in a bank and various businesses along the West Georgia corridor , some of which were also looted . Riot police eventually managed to push the rioters away from Georgia , onto Granville Street and Robson Street , where the rioters then caused further substantial damage , breaking the windows of several shops and looting , including a Future Shop , a Sears and a Chapters bookstore . One man was sent to hospital in critical condition after he attempted to jump from the Georgia Viaduct onto another platform and fell . Several hundred theatergoers were attempting to leave after a showing of the Broadway musical " Wicked " but were trapped and remained inside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre , which was situated in the riot zone . Transit authorities diverted or halted bus routes normally running through the affected area , and police closed bridge lanes into the city so that people could leave the area but further arrivals were restricted . By midnight , the majority of the crowd had dispersed . The Vancouver Police Department made 101 arrests during the riot . 85 people were arrested for breach of peace , eight for public intoxication and eight for breaking and entering , assault or theft . Aftermath . Response . Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson attributed the situation to " a small group of troublemakers " . Vancouver Police Department chief Jim Chu said that instigators appeared to be some of the same individuals involved in a protest on the opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics , and that they came equipped with eye protection , gasoline and other tools . He called them " criminals and anarchists " who disguised themselves as fans . The idea that anarchists were involved in the violence was rejected by UBC political science professor Glen Coulthard , and others in a " Vancouver Sun " article on June 24 . " That this gets tagged as anarchist activity is just more of an assumption or bias that has been around for a long time , " said Coulthard . " Anarchists are a convenient scapegoat for the police to deflect responsibility for what happened , " said another commentator . One critic indicated that authorities had made several mistakes in the planning for the crowd - among them allowing parked cars near the screens and leaving newspaper boxes nearby which could be used as projectiles . Clean - up . After the riot , thousands of volunteers had organized on social media sites such as Facebook to clean up the damage . The volunteers , many taking a day off work , had stated that they went downtown to clean up the damage to " . . . show that not all Canucks fans are like that " . Streets were reportedly clean by 10 am , with volunteers having shown up with brooms and dustpans to clean the city . Boarded up windows were covered in apologies and defences of the city ' s reputation . In response , the Hudson ' s Bay Company , a major retailer in the area , hosted a free pancake breakfast in thanks . Criminal prosecution . An investigation team of thirty - plus VPD , Royal Canadian Mounted Police , special prosecutors and municipal officers was initially set up to investigate individuals of interest who had been seen looting stores , vandalizing buildings and setting fire to cars during the riot . Several participants in the riots have turned themselves in to police after their faces were broadcast on TV , including the person responsible for setting the first car afire . More than 1 , 000 , 000 photos and 1 , 200 - 1 , 600 hours of video recorded by citizens have been sent to the Vancouver Police Department as evidence . As of September 2 , 2011 , no further arrests have been made , and no charges have been laid . Social media . Many participants in the riot stood and posed for photographs , with some even posting the photos on their own social media accounts . Photos and videos were also taken by onlookers intent on documenting the riot . In the aftermath , those photos and videos were used by many local people outraged by the riot , in an effort to tag and identify rioters and looters on Facebook , YouTube , and other social media sites , and to provide additional information to police for prosecution . Community participation in assisting police to identify the rioters has been described as unprecedented , and police admitted to being overwhelmed by the amount of evidence provided . While riot instigators were described by police as a small group of anarchists , the collected photographs and videos revealed that many participants were not connected and had never been arrested before . Online shaming campaigns resulted in some riot participants being fired from their jobs and removed from athletic teams . In some cases , violence was threatened against those identified as rioters , prompting one family to flee its home , and others to express concern about the potential of mob mentality online . The Vancouver Police Department appealed to citizens , online and otherwise , not to engage in acts of vigilante justice . Financial losses . CBC News reported that the destruction caused by the rioters was worse than the riot that followed the Canucks loss in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals , particularly the looting aspect . Early estimates suggested the losses due to vandalism , theft , and damage to property to far exceed $ 4 million . Several large - scale stores including London Drugs , The Bay , Sears Canada and Future Shop were among many that were looted . Investigation . A report released 1 September 2011 says that a major contributor to the riot was that Vancouver police underestimated the number of people who would attend the event in the downtown area . The number of people was estimated at 155 , 000 . Once the crowd became unruly , the police ' s communications systems failed , leading to a loss of control of the situation by civil authorities . Media coverage . The riots sparked intense media coverage and attention on the local , national , and international level . Local media coverage of the riots began almost immediately after the game ended , with the local CBC , CTV and Global BC stations all running news coverage of the riots , with CTV and CBC doing so from studios located in downtown Vancouver itself . CBC News Network started running live coverage in conjunction with its nationally broadcast evening news show " The National " , with one reporter calling in her reports from inside the riot . Prominent publications such as the " The Atlantic " , " The Guardian " , " The New York Times " and " USA Today " ran editorials critical of the riots and those who participated in them , as well as the city , marking the stark contrast between the Stanley Cup playoffs and the 2010 Winter Olympics . A photograph of a young couple kissing in the empty street between rioters and police quickly went viral and has become an iconic image of the riots . While it was initially suspected the photo was staged , video and photo evidence revealed that the woman in the shot had been knocked down by police and her boyfriend was comforting her .