The George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are estimated to have left the city with at least $55 million dollars in damages.
The Community Planning & Economic Development department told the Minneapolis City Council members on Tuesday that at least 220 buildings were damaged, but the city was “not yet ready to produce a credible estimate” of the losses.
As of Friday, nearly 500 businesses in the state had been vandalized, looted, or damaged in some way, according to the Star Tribune.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that he anticipated the total cost of the damage to be “tens, if not hundreds of millions” of dollars.
“We will do everything we can as we shift to recovery mode,” he added. “We’re recovering from crises sandwiched on top of each other, from COVID-19 to the police killing and then the looting, which took place afterward.”
The city and state governments are hoping for federal funding to offset the cost of rebuilding.
The protests in Minnesota and across the country began after Floyd, an unarmed black man, died while in police custody last week. Though most of the protesters have been peaceful, some offshoots have resorted to violence and vandalism.
