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Bay Area cities assessed the damage from widespread looting and violence that gripped much of the region Sunday following demonstrations over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, while police investigated shootings and prepared for protests that kicked off Monday afternoon across the East and South Bay.
In Walnut Creek — where downtown storefronts were boarded up after hundreds went on a looting frenzy at Neiman Marcus and other high-end stores around Broadway Plaza — a growing crowd gathered near to protest police violence against black Americans.
Meanwhile in Dublin, Mayor David Haubert joined protesters as they knelt before police near the entrance of Interstate 580, holding eight minutes of silence to symbolize the last minutes of Floyd’s life.
“Today is for George Floyd … Oscar Grant … to ensure they did not die in vain,” Faith Rynda, 19, told the ballooning group of marchers.
The latest round of protests unfolded as Bay Area cities imposed overnight curfews, which in some locations could continue until further notice. The cities are San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Walnut Creek, Danville, Pleasant Hill, Antioch, Lafayette, San Leandro, Hayward and Alameda.
Oakland police reported that they had arrested about 60 people during Sunday’s demonstrations, including three for allegedly shooting at the Oakland police headquarters. No injuries were reported in the incident at the headquarters on Seventh Street. Police arrested others for crimes including vandalism, looting and illegal possession of firearms.
Hayward police reported that officers shot a man who was allegedly looting a CVS store early Monday morning. The 4 a.m. shooting at the business at Harder Road and Mission Boulevard left the man with minor injuries, and he was taken into custody after receiving medical care at a local hospital. Three others also were taken into custody.
In Walnut Creek, police continued to investigate the shooting of a woman that occurred late Sunday afternoon amid mass looting. The woman was shot in the upper left arm, possibly by a looter who had been riding in a car. She was treated and released from a nearby hospital.
Walnut Creek police reported making a number of arrests Sunday night, with a number of crime scenes blocked by yellow tape near prominent downtown intersections. They also planned to deploy “additional resources” to monitor Monday afternoon’s planned protest.
In San Leandro, Alameda County firefighters fought and extinguished a fire that broke out at the Walmart store on Davis Street, which also had been targeted by looters.
The fire broke out at about 11 p.m. Sunday, Alameda County Fire tweeted. A short time later, a second commercial fire broke out at a garden center at Hesperian Boulevard and Drew Street, and spread to nearby storage units. An Alameda County Fire dispatcher reported that both fires had been extinguished as of 5 a.m.
Looters also hit the Bayfair Mall in San Leandro. Social media reports Sunday said that police exchanged gunfire with a suspect. While San Leandro police didn’t confirm the incident, police in nearby Union City said that one of their officers had been shot in the hand by a ricocheting bullet while assisting San Leandro police in an unspecified incident.
Several businesses in Union City’s Union Landing shopping center also were vandalized and looted Sunday night, and police there said that a public works employee was hit in the head by a bottle thrown at him. Public works employees had been helping the Alameda County Fire Department to fill water barricades to limit people’s access to Union Landing.
A burglar alarm at the Neiman Marcus in the Great Mall in Milpitas brought police to the scene at about 7:30 p.m. where they found a large group of people running in and out of the luxury goods store. While police didn’t arrest anyone, they recovered a vehicle with stolen property inside, Milpitas police said in a statement.
In East Contra Costa County, many businesses closed and some were boarded up and their entrances blocked after local police received credible threats of protests where participants were being encouraged “to act in a violent and destructive manner.” Antioch police guarded Best Buy and Target at Slatten Ranch shopping center on Lone Tree Way, while Brentwood police stood guard at the Streets of Brentwood shopping center to the south.
Check back for updates.
This evening at about 7:30 PM, #MilpitasPD Officers responded to a burglary alarm at Nieman Marcus, located @ShopGreatMall in #Milpitas. Click here for additional information – https://t.co/ZNXpWO3UjZ
— Milpitas Police (@MilpitasPD) June 1, 2020