Manuel Diaz' Mother Calls for End to Violent Protests

Last weekend, the shooting of an unarmed young man in Anaheim launched a series of protests and riots that have continued throughout the week and turned violent.

Now, the shooting victim's mother is speaking out, and calling for an end to it.

According to the AP, Genevieve Huizar told a group of reporters at a news conference that she didn't want her son, Manuel Diaz, to be remembered for inciting ugly demonstrations.

"I watched as my son took his last breath. I watched as his heart stopped beating for the last time," she said. "Please, please, please stop the violence. It's not going to bring my son back, and this is the worst thing any mother could go through."

The protests began on Saturday after witnesses to the shooting demanded to know why Diaz had been shot, then felt that they were treated unfairly by cops immediately after the shooting (a video was later released of cops herding witnesses away from the scene). Crowds gathered, and police fired rubber bullets and pepper balls and unleashed dogs into the masses.

On Tuesday, protests continued as the Anaheim City Council met to determine whether to bring in federal agents to investigate the shooting. As the crowd began to move through the streets, pepper balls were again fired by police, and some protesters also got physical, throwing rocks at cops and smashing windows.