Demonstrators clashed with riot police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday, hurling gas canisters and snarling traffic after a day-long peaceful protest turned violent. Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said the fighting was likely instigated by "individuals who weren't connected necessarily with the original protest," adding that the situation had devolved into complete "mayhem."
Hundreds of people were initially protesting a spate of deadly police shootings in recent years. Since 2010, officers have fatally shot 23 people and wounded another 14. Most recently, police shot and killed a homeless man, James Boyd, last month. The FBI is probing whether that killing was an excessive use of force.
"It has reached a boiling point," Alexander Siderits, who took part in the protest, told the Associated Press, "and people just can't take it anymore."