By PAISLEY DODDS and RAPHAEL G. SATTER
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Some of the text messages read like real-time rallying calls for rioters.
“If you’re down for making money, we’re about to go hard in east London,” one looter messaged before the violence spread.
Others direct troublemakers to areas of untapped riches – stores selling expensive stereo equipment, designer clothes, alcohol and bicycles.
Most show a portent of even worse things to come.
Many of the masked or hooded youths have been photographed typing messages on their cellphones while flames engulf cars and buildings.
Alcohol has also played a part. Some of Tuesday night’s rioters bragged of booze-fueled rampages. Britain has a culture of binge drinking with a recent surge in alcohol-related diseases among the young. The legal age to purchase alcohol in Britain is 18.
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