Truck set on fire, windows smashed during US protests

CAR DRIVES THROUGH CROWD, PROTESTER SHOT IN COLORADO

Richmond (US), July 26: A city dump truck was set on fire as protesters faced off with police in Virginia’s capital during a demonstration in support of protesters on the other side of the country in Portland, Oregon.

Virginia State Police and Richmond police worked to clear the crowd of a several hundred demonstrators late Saturday. City police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11 pm, and what appeared to be tear gas was deployed to disperse the group. Protesters had been planning for days the demonstration that was called “Richmond Stands with Portland,” news outlets reported, in an apparent reaction to ongoing tensions between protesters and US agents at the federal courthouse in Oregon’s largest city

Weeks of nationwide unrest have struck several US cities since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. Saturday’s protest in Richmond started at a park and then demonstrators marched to police headquarters, according to news outlets.

Police tweeted a photo of rocks, batteries and other items the department said were thrown at its officers during the protest. A video also showed an officer extinguishing a mattress on fire in the middle of a road.

— AP

Aurora, July 26: A car drove through a crowd and a protester was shot in the suburban Denver suburb of Aurora during demonstrations against racial injustice.

The Aurora Police Department said on Twitter that protesters were walking on Interstate 225 Saturday when a vehicle drove through. Police said a protester fired a weapon, striking at least one person who was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Authorities said the vehicle was towed and they are investigating. Protesters also broke windows to the courthouse and a fire was started in an office, police said. An unlawful assembly was declared and police ordered protesters to leave the area, authorities said.

Tensions have been heightened at recent protests against racial injustice since federal officials were sent to quell demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. Police declared a riot in Seattle on Saturday. Protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minnesota.