Looting follows George Floyd protests in SF, Oakland with fire set in Westfield mall
Looters broke into and damaged stores in several Bay Area cities on Saturday, during the second night of chaos in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
Groups of looters broke into stores on the border of Oakland and Emeryville Saturday evening, pulling electronics from Best Buy and clothing and other items from several other stores.
The thieves were not part of the main protest in downtown Oakland, located more than two miles away.
In San Francisco, a fire was set at the Westfield shopping mall on Market Street, a San Francisco police representative said.
The violence and vandalism prompted Mayor London Breed to announce a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., starting Sunday. In addition, the National Guard would be on standby, she said.
“I’m asking the folks who are out there doing what they know they shouldn’t be doing, to go home,” she said. “We don't want that kind of behavior to continue in our city.”
San Francisco Police Officer Robert Rueca said “a fire was set in the (Westfield) mall, but it was extinguished” and that there are “multiple reports of property damage around the downtown area.”
Walgreens, CVS and Starbucks on Market Street were also among those looted.
One man kicked in the glass window of the Old Navy on Market Street, while several people jumped in and out of the broken window at the CVS grabbing baskets full of stuff.
No police officers stood in the way as people blatantly bashed in windows and sprayed graffiti on others.
At one point, however, a line of officers blocked people from going past 6th Street. One protester antagonized an officer for several minutes until the officer pointed his rifle at him and yelled to get back.
Well before midnight, the crowd of protesters had largely cleared Market Street, but broken glass, graffiti and empty shelves were left behind.
“Tearing down a business that people have spent their lives to build,” said Police Chief Bill Scott, “if you’re a San Franciscan, is that what you want?”
Across the Bay in Emeryville, the windows were blown out at Urban Outfitters at about 9:30 p.m., and a woman walked out with at least ten hangars of clothing. Nearby, at the Guitar Center, which had also been breached, several men, wearing masks and gloves, ran out to their cars with at least two guitars in their hands. Another carried a keyboard.
Another group of about 20 people then broke into Marshall’s, where they carried out belts and dress shirts. One man ran out with at least eight pillows.
The Emeryville Best Buy was also broken into earlier, with looters piling items into waiting vehicles.
Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said he did not know how many looters were in the Emeryville area, but that the crowd there was “more spread out.”
Despite store alarms blaring, there was no police presence at the shopping center down the road from Best Buy as the thieves moved store to store for more than 30 minutes.
At 10:15 p.m., police finally arrived in riot gear and formed a line in front of stores.
“Not a lot to talk about. It’s happening,” he said. “We will deal with what we can.”
The Target store down from the Best Buy was shuttered early and boarded up to prevent looting.
In Vallejo, a small group of protesters, who had been part of a larger peaceful parade of cars and pedestrians, converged on a Target in Vallejo, where they squared off with a line of police.
Officers reported that at least one protester had thrown an object at police. Demonstrators can be seen in a live stream breaking the windows of stores in the shopping center.
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