1992 April 29 Riots erupt in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King. The suburban Simi Valley jury that acquitted the police officers had no black members. The videotaped beating was broadcast around the world and provoked outrage condemning police brutality. With the announcement of the verdict, looting and violence break out across the South Central section of Los Angeles. By the end of the first day, 12 people are killed and more than 100 arson fires engulf the area. Mayor Tom Bradley declares a local state of emergency and Governor Pete Wilson orders the National Guard to assist local police in controlling the increasing violence. President George Bush orders the deployment of 1,500 Marines and 3,000 Army troops to Los Angeles. Many of the shops targeted for looting are those owned by Korean immigrants. Tension between Los Angeles blacks and Koreans had been rising since the 1991 fatal shooting of a young black girl, Latasha Harlins, by a Korean grocer. The Bush administration blames the riots on urban decay, crime and welfare dependency which it claims grew out of the social-welfare programs passed by Congress in the 1960s and 1970s.