Business owners on Monday were assessing the damages done by looters who broke into stores in downtown San Diego after police broke up a protest held to seek justice for George Floyd, a black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis.
The looting was reported after 10 p.m. Sunday as large numbers of people moved through the streets of downtown breaking windows and entering stores, according to San Diego Police. Police responded en masse, cornering a group of looters near Fifth Avenue and C Street.
Several locations, including a CVS at Fourth Avenue and Broadway and a 7-Eleven nearby, were broken into or vandalized, police reported.
Earlier, police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades against protesters and issued an unlawful assembly order in the area of Broadway in downtown San Diego.
SDPD tweeted early Monday morning that over 100 people were arrested and booked on various charges including failure to disperse, burglary, assaulting officers and vandalism.
San Diego County officially declared a state of emergency Sunday in reaction to protests nationwide, and several cities imposed an overnight curfew.
Jeff Collins, a county spokesman, said the state of emergency was declared in part so the sheriff’s department could impose a curfew for unincorporated areas. He said it would also allow the county to seek federal reimbursement if needed.
— City News Service