Seattle's Sunday night George Floyd protest had a car attack, shooting, and lots of tear gas
Protesters gathered in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood Sunday for a ninth day of protests against racial injustice and police brutality concretized in the killing of George Floyd. The protest's peace was first shattered when a black car drove toward a crowd demonstrating near 11th Avenue and Pine Street shortly before 8:30 p.m. The driver appears to have shot a 27-year-old man who reached into his car, purportedly to protect other protesters, according to video of the incident and The Seattle Times.
The driver, who is white, then walked through the crowd with his gun drawn, winding toward the line of police, where he and his gun were taken into custody. The protester he shot in the arm, who is black, was taken to the hospital, where he is in stable condition.
After that incident, tensions continued to mount between Seattle police warning protesters to stop advancing past a barricade they had erected and some protesters advancing anyway. Around midnight, the Times reports, "police used flash-bangs, pepper spray, and tear gas against the remaining crowd," and with gas hanging in the street, "explosions from the flash-bangs continued for at least 20 minutes." The Stranger's Chase Burns captured some of the melee from the newspaper's offices, where the gas eventually rose to and left staff coughing and crying.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was "a prolonged and intense confrontation," The Stranger's Rich Smith reports. "Some protesters batted away projectiles with umbrellas, tossed traffic cones, shined laser pointers, and threw bottles and fireworks at police as they fell back. Others stood with their hands raised, bright lights shining in their faces." By 1 a.m. there were only a few dozen protesters and police facing off, he adds. "The Marshall Law Band played live on 11th Ave for large stretches of the conflict, if not the whole time."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Onion is having a very ironic laugh with Infowars
The Explainer The satirical newspaper is purchasing the controversial website out of bankruptcy
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'Rahmbo, back from Japan, will be looking for a job? Really?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What's next for electric vehicles under Trump?
Today's Big Question And what does that mean for Tesla's Elon Musk?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published