Looters Strike Bayside Marketside As Demonstrators Clash With Miami Police
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Looters struck the popular tourist destination Bayside Marketplace Saturday in downtown Miami as demonstrators clashed with police just a few blocks away on Saturday night.
Video from Chopper 4 showed a bunch of people ransacking stores at Bayside Marketplace located on Biscayne Boulevard, just blocks from Miami Police Headquarters where a demonstration, which started peacefully earlier in the day, turned violent.
A SWAT team was sent to Bayside but the looters took off running.
All this while chaos was unfolding by the police department when protesters threw rocks and bottles at officers who were lined outside headquarters, and officers began firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
GALLERY: MIAMI DEMONSTRATION TURNS VIOLENT
The protesters were calling for justice in the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while being taken into custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday.
During the chaos Saturday night in Miami, protesters set fire to several cars including police cars.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered a countywide curfew that went into effect at 10 p.m. as did the City of Miami and Hallandale Beach.
The City of Miami's curfew starts even earlier on Sunday from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.