Historical eventMay 51991

1991 Washington, D.C., riot

Riots broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police officer shot a Salvadoran man in the chest.

Everything on May 5Original source

In context

When
Sunday, May 5 199135 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1990s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1991.

What happened

Riots broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police officer shot a Salvadoran man in the chest.

May 5 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1985Ronald Reagan
  2. 1987Iran–Contra affair
  3. 19911991 Washington, D.C., riot
  4. 1992Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
  5. 1994Bishkek Protocol
  6. 1994Caning of Michael Fay
  7. 2006Sudan
  8. 2007Kenya Airways Flight 507
  9. 2010Anti-austerity movement in Greece
  10. 2020ABS-CBN
  11. 2023World Health Organization

Also in 1991

  • September 9TajikistanTajikistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
  • September 11Continental Express Flight 2574Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew.
  • March 14EscondidaEscondida, one of the most productive copper mines in the world, was officially inaugurated.
  • September 12Space Shuttle DiscoveryNASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-48 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.
  • September 17EstoniaEstonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
  • September 17LinuxThe first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
  • September 5Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989The current international treaty defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, comes into force.
  • October 201991 Uttarkashi earthquakeAn earthquake struck the Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of homes.

Everything we record for 1991 →

Sources

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“1991 Washington, D.C., riot”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/1991-washington-d-c-riot-1991-may-5, accessed October 25, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did 1991 Washington, D.C., riot happen?

May 5 1991 — 35 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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