Fresh violence in Portland, as police fire tear gas on protesters

Police and federal agents fired tear gas and forcefully dispersed protesters in the US city of Portland early Saturday, an AFP reporter said, during the latest demonstrations against racism and police brutality.

The city, the biggest in the state of Oregon, has seen nightly protests for nearly two months, initially sparked by the death in Minneapolis of unarmed African American George Floyd. 

It is also now the scene of a highly controversial crackdown by federal agents ordered by US President Donald Trump -- one that is not supported by local officials.

The inspector general of the US Justice Department on Thursday opened an official investigation into the federal crackdown.

Friday's demonstration was mainly peaceful, with crowds playing music and dancing, blowing soap bubbles and setting off fireworks.

But it ended -- like many before it -- in a showdown between protesters and police, which escalated in a haze of tear gas and flash-bang devices.

One group of protesters formed a line with umbrellas and makeshift shields to try to protect themselves, as at least two fires burned outside the fences around a federal courthouse.

Tear gas was first fired around 11:00 pm. By 2:30 am police and federal agents were clearing the scene outside the courthouse with tear gas, pushing protesters back. 

Earlier, protesters who spoke to AFP complained of the federal agents' presence in the city and voiced their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which helped drive demonstrations across the country for weeks after Floyd's killing.

"I don't like what's happening down here, what Trump is doing," Mike Shikany, a 55-year-old aerospace engineer, said, adding he did not "want to get anywhere near the little green men," meaning the federal troops.

Portland retiree Jean Mullen, 74, said that without pressure nothing would change. 

"It's time to become the country we always brag about being. And we can't brag anymore, about anything. We aren't first in anything and it's a terrible, terrible thing to see at the end of my life," she said.

Trump, who is campaigning for re-election in November on "law and order," also announced on Wednesday that federal agents in Chicago and other cities will be stepped up after a resurgence of crime and shootings.

Agence France-Presse

Black Lives Matter protests continue

Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Monday, in Portland, Oregon, USA. Officers used teargas and projectiles to move the crowd after some protesters tore down a fence fronting the courthouse. 

-Noah Berger, AP-

Multiple deaths and injuries after shooting at Oregon college

OREGON - At least 15 people were killed and another 20 wounded at a shooting on Thursday at a community college in Roseburg, Oregon, media reported.

The Portland Oregonian newspaper and CNN reported that a suspect had been taken into custody, citing Douglas County officials. That suspect was not identified.

CNN reported that one of the wounded was a female who had been shot in the chest. There was no immediate information on condition of the other wounded victims.

A spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff's department confirmed to Reuters that there was a shooting at the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg. The spokeswoman had no further details.

"Active shooter scene is code 4. Multiple casualties all pt's transported," the Douglas County Fire Department said in a tweet. Multiple ambulances were reported to be on scene.

The Portland Oregonian newspaper reported that officers responded at around 10:40 a.m. PDT to reports of a shooting at the college. The Oregonian said police scanner traffic indicated that the shooter was "down."

Shelly Stefanich, spokeswoman for Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, said that the hospital was the only one in town and most likely to receive patients, but could not say how many were being treated there.

Local media reported that authorities were combing through the campus.

The paper said agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were en route to Roseburg, a city of about 20,000 people some 260 miles (418 km) south of Portland.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com