A demonstrator reacts from the effects of teargas during a protest against the death of African-American man George Floyd under Minneapolis police custody, in Oakland, California, US
REUTERS/Stephen Lam

What started on Friday afternoon as peaceful protests turned to be chaotic in the evening, Oakland and San Jose. There were the deployment of rubber bullets and tear gas, looting of some businesses, and fires set in commercial buildings and streets.

Then, reports came out that similar incidents took place simultaneously with the protests in Oakland though they are not confirmed to be directly connected.

In the latter-mentioned occurrence, according to reports, two federal building officers were shot and one of them was killed in downtown Oakland.

The images of protests were later on followed by several images of devastations and confrontations with police which was mirrored throughout the nation on Friday night. Along with these were protests in several cities that amounted to a considerable rebellion against the so-called "police brutality" that targets "people of color."

That particular night of demonstration followed an equally devastating protest on Thursday in Minneapolis, the third night of demonstrations in the city over the police killing of George Floyd.

Peaceful Demonstration Intended

Notably, Oakland has a momentous "recent history" that has peaceful political demonstrations which the so-called opportunistic anarchists use so they can commit "acts of vandalism" later at night. And, many people on the street last Friday night said, it has happened again.

Protesters assembled outside the San Jose City Hall on Friday at around 2 p.m. Meanwhile outside Citi Hall in Oakland, protesters gathered at 8 p.m. Both incidents started peacefully and turned out to be more unruly in the latter part of the night.

As reported by various media organizations, demonstrations in Oakland started with only a few hundred protesters that grew to roughly 5,000 along the "streets of downtown and down Broadway or Auto Row."

In the Oakland rally, protesters reportedly marched onto 880 Freeway and at one point, blocked the traffic, much way the San Jose demonstrators had done on Friday afternoon on 101 South.

One woman, according to a media report, was riding a horse to the picket saying, "Horses bring attention."

Later that night, a Walgreens was vandalized, looted, and broken into. A fire inside the store, located on the 14th and Broadway in Oakland was also set.

According to the news report, also looted was a Target store, via "an assembly line" and at least one vehicle was set on fire, as well.

Arrests, Detaining and Police Injury

Oakland police were able to make 22 arrests after detaining at least 60 individuals for looting. In relation to this, 13 police officers of the city were reportedly injured after they were thrown objects by the protesters.

According to Susan Manheimer, the Interim Oakland Police Chief, they have had demonstrations a night before and they began peacefully. She added, they "stood peacefully with the community in Oakland" to ensure safe and respectful spaces for the protesters.

However, Manheimer said, what they saw later that evening became disruptive and violent and thus, "we want to call on everyone" intending to come to the city and stand with them to "respect the memory of George Floyd" and the community to guarantee that they are both respectful and peaceful to Oakland, especially the downtown businesses which have suffered since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the police department in Oakland, it remained unknown if what happened on Friday night was linked to the protests several blocks away. Currently, agents of FBI, Homeland Security, and the US Marshals are leading the investigation into murder and shooting.

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