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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Sami Quadri

Kai Cenat: Thousands spark chaos in New York during following Youtuber’s PS5 giveaway

More than 60 people were arrested after thousands of young people caused mayhem during a video-game console giveaway in New York.

Huge crowds descended on Union Square Park on Friday evening after Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, 21, advertised a giveaway on his Instagram feed.

The crowd climbed on cars, hurled chairs, and threw punches as lines of police struggled to contain the mass of people, which periodically broke into a run.

Some young people said they had been expecting a computer for livestreaming and a new PlayStation.

(Getty Images)

Officers arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles following the incident.

Police planned to charge Cenat with multiple counts of inciting a riot, unlawful assembly and possibly other crimes, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.

A number of people were injured, including at least four people taken away in ambulances, Mr Maddrey said, adding that he saw other people leaving the area with bloodied heads.

“People were suffering out here,” Mr Maddrey said. Some motorists were trapped as people climbed on top of their cars while several police vehicles were damaged including his own.

On his Instagram feed, Cenat had promoted a giveaway at 4pm in the park.

People started lining up as early as 1.30pm and by 3pm, the crowd had swelled and was getting unruly. Some young people leaving the park said they had come expecting to get a computer for livestreaming or a new PlayStation.

Cenat is an online content creator with 6.5 million followers on livestreaming platformTwitch.

He also boasts 4 million subscribers on YouTube, where he posts daily life and comedy vlogs ranging from “Fake Hibachi Chef Prank!” to his most recent video, “I Rented Us Girlfriends In Japan!”

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