Unrest has been simmering in the El Cajon area since the death of Alfred Olango, who was shot by police on Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday night tensions came to a head as protestors began throwing objects at a line of officers, who in turn tossed tear gas canisters and shot pepper balls at the crowd, reports ABC 10.
Protestors had gathered on Thursday at the intersection of Broadway and North Mollison in El Cajon, just a few yards away from the spot where Olango was shot. The crowd was smaller than the ones that had demonstrated on Tuesday and Wednesday—The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that there were about 50 to 75 protestors on Thursday, while 300 people turned out for protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday's protest turned violent at around 8 p.m., when protestors stopped passing vehicles and broke some of their windows. According to the Tribune, one man lost control of his motorcycle at the intersection and laid down his vehicle on the ground. A fight then broke out between the motorcyclist and several protestors. According to one Instagram user—justice4alfredolan—a motorcyclist had "intentionally rode his bike through the crowd and fell off the bike on his own." It's unclear if the Tribune and justice4alfredolan are describing the same individual. justice4alfredolan posted a video of a motorcyclist confronting protestors:
According to a release by the El Cajon Police Department, a "group of officers from the multi-agency composite platoon" arrived at the scene in response to 9-1-1 calls. Law enforcement officials declared an unlawful assembly and demanded the protestors to leave. In turn, the protestors began throwing glass bottles at the officers, which led the police to shoot pepper balls at them, reports the L.A. Times.
Union-Tribune reporter David Hernandez took a short video of the police telling the crowd to disperse:
This woman says she was a bystander who got hit in the face with a beanbag fired by police:
Two El Cajon men—19 and 28 years old—were arrested on suspicion of engaging in an unlawful assembly. Their names have not been released.
The Union-Tribune also reported that, later in the night at 12:45 a.m., one of their freelance photographers was filming a couple of protestors when he was beaten and robbed of his camera.
Schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District have shortened their schedules on Friday in response to the unrest, according to ABC 10. Middle schools are being let out at 12:15 p.m., while elementary schools will be let out an hour earlier than their set times.
LAist has left a message for the El Cajon Police Department asking for comment. No injuries at the scene have been reported so far.
A Facebook user by the name of Jeff Pro uploaded an hour long video. Near the beginning, you can hear what appears to be the sounds of pepper-balls being fired:
