Protests turn ugly:
Demonstrator with rifle shot and killed in Texas; another shot, wounded in Colorado.
– Protests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend, with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents in Portland, Oregon, forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house, and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia.
A protest against police violence in Austin, Texas, turned deadly when a witness said the driver of a car that drove through a crowd of marchers opened fire on an armed demonstrator who approached the vehicle. In Aurora, Colorado, someone was shot and wounded after a car drove through a protest, authorities said.
The unrest Saturday and early Sunday stemmed from weeks of protests over racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color that flared after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In Seattle, police officers retreated into a precinct station early Sunday, hours after large demonstrations in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Some demonstrators lingered after officers filed into the department’s East Precinct about 1a.m., but most cleared out a short time later, according to video posted online.
Seattle police Chief Carmen Best called for peace. Rocks, bottles, fireworks and mortars were fired at police during the weekend, and police said they arrested at least 45 people for aslence, saults on officers, obstruction and failure to disperse. Twenty-one officers were hurt, with most injuries considered minor, police said.
In Portland, thousands of people gathered Saturday for another night of protests over Floyd’s killing and the presence of federal agents recently sent to the city by President Donald Trump. Protesters breached a fence surrounding the city’s federal courthouse building where the agents have been stationed.
Chuck Lovell, the Portland police chief, released a video message on social media Saturday night calling for peace.
“Across the country people are committing violence, supposedly in support of Portland,” Lovell said. “If you want to support Portland, then stop the VIOATLANTA work for peace. Portland police officers and police facilities have been threatened.
“Now more than ever, Portland police need your support. We want to be with you in the community and working on the real relationships that will create change. We want to get back to the critical issues that have been hijacked by people committing crimes under the cover of the crowds.”
Police declared the situation to be a riot. At about 1:20 a.m., they began ordering people to leave the area surrounding the courthouse or risk arrest, saying on Twitter that the violence had created “a grave risk” to the public. About 20 minutes later, federal officers and local police could be seen attempting to clear the area and deploying tear gas.