SAN ANTONIO – Videos circulating on social media showed some of the damage and destruction in downtown San Antonio late Saturday night after thousands gathered for a peaceful protest and marched earlier in the day to speak out against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.
RELATED: Photos show evolution of San Antonio protest over police brutality, George Floyd’s killing
A group of individuals were seen smashing glass windows at the Whataburger on East Commerce and another group of people allegedly broke into the Shops at the Rivercenter and damaged the inside of the downtown mall.
One of the most shared videos on Twitter was initially posted by a user with the handle “BigChuckTX.”
It showed people breaking into the restaurant and others walking down the street spray-painting walls and windows, and throwing recycling bins at other businesses.
The user took down the video, but it had already been shared by multiple people and had more than 36,000 views and more than a 130 retweets as of Sunday morning.
Now the @Whataburger location in Downtown San Antonio has it's windows shattered by the protestors.
— Michael Land (@OfficialMLand) May 31, 2020
(Via: @Beer30Tx)
⚠️WARNING: Strong Language and Violence⚠️ pic.twitter.com/epg4QW1Vr8
Other videos showed people break into the Shops at Rivercenter. Alarms went off inside the facility as several people made their way inside. Fire extinguishers were reportedly thrown at the mall.
Video from SKY12 also showed people throw recycle bins on the street.
Protestors have broken into the Shops At Rivercenter (formerly Rivercenter Mall). [Via:@Alamo16KP_2013] pic.twitter.com/NlL6b7YB7F
— Michael Land (@OfficialMLand) May 31, 2020
RIVERCENTER MALL pic.twitter.com/KWNlZjwaEf
— Preston. (@PrestonReyes6) May 31, 2020
There are reports now of people damaging property after a relatively peaceful protest earlier today.
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) May 31, 2020
Rivercenter Mall was reportedly damaged and you can see here from #SKY12 video that others threw trash/recycling bins on the streets of downtown. Please stay safe SA. #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/60aYsfi2o7
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said a full assessment of the damage would not be known until later next week.
McManus described these individuals as “agitators” and said the groups who protested earlier in the day were peaceful and there were no issues.
STORY: At least six arrested as protests turn to destruction in downtown San Antonio
KSAT’s Dillon Collier reported Sunday morning that at least six people had been arrested and face a variety of charges.
In response to the damage, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg imposed a curfew for the central district in San Antonio that is in effect from 10 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Monday.