The riots began the day the verdicts were announced, and peaked in intensity over the next two days. A dusk-to-dawn curfew and deployment by the California Army National Guard and federal troops from the 7th Infantry Division and 1st Marine Division eventually controlled the situation.
A total of 63 people died during the riots, including nine who were killed by law enforcement personnel and one who was killed by Guardsmen. As many as 2,383 people were reported injured. Estimates of the material losses vary between about $800 million and $1 billion. Approximately 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings, with fire calls coming once every minute at some points. Widespread looting also occurred. Rioters targeted stores owned by Koreans and other ethnic Asians, reflecting tensions between them and the African-American communities.
Many of the disturbances were concentrated in South Central Los Angeles, where the population was majority African-American and Hispanic. Fewer than half of all the riot arrests and a third of those killed during the violence were Hispanic.
This caused the Emergency Broadcast System and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to do a Activation on April 30, 1992 on KCAL-TV.
Verdicts Announced
The acquittals of the four accused Los Angeles Police Department officers came at 3:15 pm local time. By 3:45, a crowd of more than 300 people had appeared at the Los Angeles County Courthouse protesting the verdicts.
