Tanker Truck Drives Into Protesters, Banks Burned To The Ground In US (Photos).
Peaceful protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis turned into riots as night fell on La Mesa, a suburb of about 60,000 people east of San Diego, leaving a trail of destruction.
They torched the Chase and Union banks next door to each other, Fox 5 reported. Images showed the fire engulfing one bank, leaving behind a gutted skeleton of lumber and twisted metal by morning.
Windows were smashed at many businesses, including a Goodwill store, a real-estate office and a popular bar. Daniel Buxton, the owner of Play It Again Sports, said he returned to his establishment to find “complete destruction.”
“Took what they could, destroyed what they could and got out,” he told local station KPBS. He added that looters used bats to destroy the inside and lit a fire which the sprinklers had doused.
Video of looters busting through glass windows and raiding a Walmart after midnight at the Grossmont Center in La Mesa was captured by KNSD.
San Diego police officers, aided by other law enforcement agencies, walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the streets after 2 a.m. Sunday, telling hundreds of protesters and observers that they would be arrested for unlawful assembly if they didn’t disperse.
“I think people are hurting and they’re angry and they’re trying to be heard because there’s no other way to get anyone’s attention,” Ally Kaiahua, a white woman, told The Associated Press about the property damage in La Mesa. “It’s unfortunate but this has been part of our history and how things get done because they don’t listen any other way.”
After the curfew lifted at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, volunteers began coming out to help clean up the destruction in La Mesa. Many carried trash bags and brooms, while others painted vandalized property, local news outlets reported.
"It was overwhelming to see this community come together,” Aaron Henderson, owner of a looted coffee shop, told KNSD.
Tanker truck drives into protesters as U.S. cities fear another night of violent protests
A tanker truck drove into a throng of protesters on a closed interstate near Minneapolis on Sunday, with the driver pulled from his rig and beaten, as major U.S. cities imposed curfews in fear of another night of demonstrations against police brutality descending into violence.
It did not appear that any marchers were struck by the truck as it moved through the crowd on the westbound lanes of Interstate 35, honking. The freeway was closed to traffic at the time.
A Reuters witness said the truck driver was dragged out of the cab of his tractor-trailer rig and beaten by protesters before he was taken into custody by Minneapolis police. A Reuters photo showed him shirtless and covering his face as he stood next to a police officer.
“Very disturbing actions by a truck driver on I-35W, inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators,” the Minneapolis Department of Public Safety said on Twitter. “The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck.”
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