Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a news briefing that an officer was shot amid protests over the death of George Floyd.
“Our officers were attempting to take rocks and bottles from the crowd,” said Lombardo during the press conference on Monday night. “Officers were attempting to get some of the protesters in custody when a shot rang out and our officer went down.”
“This is a tragic night for our community,” said Lombardo in the news conference. “With these protests, which are leading to riots, one tragedy is only leading to another … our investigations into both these incidents will be ongoing throughout the morning.”
“What has occurred is utterly, utterly unacceptable and I hope the community sees it that way too,” he said.
The protesters were demonstrating after the death of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.
Officials in Las Vegas also said that more than 300 people were arrested during three nights of protests.
In other cities, protests in New York Monday night were punctuated by people smashing shop windows near Rockefeller Center and breaching the doors of Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street, littering the pavement with broken glass. A vehicle plowed through a group of law enforcement officers at a demonstration in Buffalo, injuring at least two.
Demonstrations also broke out in such places as Philadelphia, where hundreds of protesters spilled onto a highway in the heart of the city; Atlanta, where police fired tear gas at demonstrators; and Nashville, where more than 60 National Guard members put down their riot shields at the request of peaceful protesters.
More than 5,600 people nationwide have been arrested over the past week for such offenses as stealing, blocking highways, and breaking curfew, according to a count by The Associated Press.
