Man drives car at Seattle George Floyd protesters; 1 person shot

SEATTLE (AP) — Authorities say a man in Seattle drove a car at George Floyd protesters in Seattle Sunday night, hit a barricade then exited the vehicle brandishing a pistol. At least one person was injured.

The Seattle Fire Department said the victim was a 27-year-old male who was shot and taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Video taken by a reporter for The Seattle Times showed part of the scene in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, where hundreds of demonstrators have gathered for days near a police precinct.

It was the second night of mayhem near the police station.

Earlier Sunday, Seattle City Council members sharply criticized Mayor Jenny Durkan and Police Chief Carmen Best after police used flash bang devices and pepper spray to disperse protesters, a day after Durkan and Best said they were trying to de-escalate tensions.

Authorities said rocks, bottles and explosives were thrown at officers in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood Saturday night. Police said via Twitter that several officers were injured by “improvised explosives.”

The mayhem in the Capitol Hill neighborhood came on the ninth consecutive day of George Floyd protests in the city. It followed a large, peaceful demonstration earlier.

It also came a day after Durkan and Best imposed a 30-day moratorium on the department’s use of one kind of tear gas.

At a news conference Sunday night, Durkan, addressing the concerns of protesters and other elected officials, said she would freeze spending on police technology, weapons, vehicles and buildings until further talks with community members,. And she said she would find $100 million in budget allocations for community needs. However, the mayor said that money wouldn’t come from police budgets, as many protesters have demanded.