On this day in 1965,

WATTS RIOTS BEGIN

34 dead, 1,032 injured, 4,000 arrested, $40 million damage

14,000 National Guard Troops Required To Restore Order

Stock footage of riot and aftermath

On this day in 1964, five days of rioting started in the predominantly black Watts neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles after two white policemen stopped a black motorist suspected of drunken driving. The rioters eventually ranged over a 50-square-mile area looting stores, torching buildings, and beating whites as snipers fired at police and firefighters. The National Guard had to be called in to restore order.  The rioting left 34 dead, 1,032 injured, nearly 4,000 arrested, and $40 million worth of property destroyed.