San Francisco announces curfew for Sunday night after protests

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced on Saturday night a curfew in the city that will last from 8 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday local time with the National Guard on standby.

The measures followed chaos and looting downtown. Stores were damaged and looted in some Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, on Saturday as protests over the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis raged on in the region.

"People are hurting right now. They're angry. I'm angry. The city and the police will support peaceful protests ... We can't tolerate violence and vandalism. Now is the time to go home," said Breed in a tweet.

Floyd died shortly after a white police officer used his knee to pin Floyd to the ground by the neck.

The city's Police Chief Bill Scott said that the police start to see an increased level of violence after nightfall.

"There is destruction, fires, looting downtown around Westfield mall. Some of the essential workers at the 4th/Mission garage were assaulted," San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney also tweeted.

A Friday night protest in Oakland turned into a riot with dozens of protestors arrested.

Earlier on Saturday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan also announced a city-wide curfew for Saturday and Sunday after protests broke out downtown.

(XINHUA)