In 1909 the Tottenham Outrage occurred. A pair of anarchists armed with then-new semi-automatic pistols attempted to rob a local business payroll, and went on a shooting spree in their attempt to escape. Normal citizens joined in the pursuit, going so far as to provide privately-owned weapons to the normally unarmed police in pursuit. Their escape was foiled.
One hundred and two years later, same place, a different kind of outrage:
The riot that tore through parts of north London’s deprived Tottenham neighborhood has cast a pall over Britain’s capital, echoing an earlier era of racial unrest, while spreading malaise through a city preparing to host the Olympic Games.
Eight officers were hospitalized after a peaceful protest against the shooting death of a young man degenerated into a Saturday night rampage, with rioters torching a double-decker bus, destroying patrol cars and trashing a shopping mall.
Looters descended on the area around midnight, setting buildings alight, and piling stolen goods into cars and shopping carts. Sirens could be heard across the capital as authorities rushed reinforcements to the scene.
More information and pictures here.