RIOT POLICE IN Florida broke up an angry crowd gathered outside an Orlando shopping centre as the sports brand Nike prepared to launch its highly-anticipated new basketball trainer collection.
The ‘galactically-themed’ trainers were being released through selected retailers and on Nike.com last night to mark a big weekend of basketball action in Orlando, according to Nike. The company said the line’s “interior graphics pay homage to the phenomenon of the Supernova”, while its fonts and badging are a “nod to Orlando and space”.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that crowds gathered outside the Florida Mall last night to queue for the release of the $220-a-paid trainers (pictured below).
Here are police on the scene:
(Video via ymeans7)
One witness said that the growing crowd had been asked to wait across the road from the shopping centre when it closed at 9pm until the shoes went on sale later last night. However, one person made a dash for the Foot Locker store where the Nike event was being held – and hundreds more followed suit.
Riot police arrived on the scene shortly before 10pm to break up the crowd of around 3,000 which had built up at the mall. Some of those on the scene said that police threatened to use pepper spray and that some of the riot officers arrived on horseback to try to break up the group.
Police ordered last night’s event cancelled over their safety concerns. Authorities later said that there were no injuries or arrests in Orlando, but that one person was arrested among a crowd awaiting the shoe’s release in Maryland.
Pairs of the special edition trainers have been appearing on eBay for between $1,500 and $2,500 today. Here’s a pre-sale image of one pair of the special edition line:
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