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Protesters clash with police in Santa Ana

Workers at the Smart & Final store clean up debris and damage caused by looters
Workers at the Smart & Final store clean up debris and damage caused by looters during a demonstration to protest the death of George Floyd in Santa Ana.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters clashed with police Saturday night at the Santa Ana police headquarters.

Hundreds demonstrators demanding justice for George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, converged on the police station, at times throwing objects at officers and setting off firecrackers. Santa Ana police said it began about 8 p.m. at McFadden Avenue and Bristol Street. Videos showed police using tear gas to push back the demonstrators.

Orange County Fire Authority firefighters were on standby in case of fires.

There were no immediate reports of arrests, injuries or looting.

Protest scenes in Los Angeles included looting, vandalism and the destruction of some police cars. Demonstrations elsewhere in California included San Jose, San Francisco, Bakersfield and Oakland.

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A Federal Protective Service officer was fatally shot and another officer was critically injured outside a federal courthouse in Oakland during a protest Friday night over the killing of Floyd. Officials described the shooting of the officer as an “act of domestic terrorism.”

After three days of protests, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has requested state troops and imposed a citywide curfew to quell looting, vandalism and violence.

May 31, 2020

The officers were keeping watch over the Oakland protest when the shooting occurred, authorities said, but it was not immediately clear if the incident was directly related to the unrest.

Federal officials said Saturday that the shooting was part of “an outright assault on our law enforcement community” and suggested that it fit into a larger pattern of extremist groups hijacking peaceful protests to commit acts of violence.

“Let me be clear: When someone targets a police officer or a police station with an intention to do harm and intimidate, that is an act of domestic terrorism,” Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security, said at a news conference.

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A vehicle pulled up to the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building at 1301 Clay St. at about 9:45 p.m., and someone inside the vehicle fired gunshots at the contract security officers, the FBI said in a statement.

One officer was killed and another was hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. No arrest was reported.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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