(Reuters) – Houston has imposed an overnight curfew beginning on Tuesday night for an indefinite period amid incidents of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers, city officials said.
The curfew will run from 10 p.m. until 5 p.m., Mayor Sylvester Turner told a news conference on Tuesday evening. The city is also bringing additional police from other regions.
“You cannot drive, nor be in any public place. We have had problems with armed robberies, with people with guns and firearms,” said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
The city is opening several additional emergency shelters to alleviate crowding at the convention center, which has 10,000 people. Some of those will be moved to a nearby concert hall and basketball arena.
It is also opening a shelter on the west side, near where more than 3,000 homes have been flooded. Another center in Humble, Texas, will house people from the city’s northern suburbs, Mayor Turner said.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Sandra Maler)
