Protests of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police were well underway by late Sunday afternoon, with the City of Walnut Creek quickly declaring a curfew beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, following looting at at least two major stores in that city.
Social media posts showed looters at both the Macy’s store in the Broadway Plaza shopping center downtown and at the Target store on Main Street near Ygnacio Valley Road. There were reports of a woman being shot in the arm in the downtown area, as well. BART, as of about 6:10 p.m., closed its Walnut Creek station, with no trains stopping there until further notice.
Pleasant Hill officials as of 6:30 p.m. are warning of protest-related police activity in that city’s downtown area west of the Interstate Highway 680/Monument Boulevard interchange.
BART has in fact closed several of its stations Sunday night in the face of either current or expected protests, and the threat of violence. In downtown Oakland, BART’s 12th Street station is crowds have been reported at several places along Broadway downtown, including “sideshow” activity at the intersection of Broadway and 14th Street. There also were large crowds gathered at Middle Harbor Road and Maritime Street near the Port of Oakland.
The downtown was a hotbed for vandalism both Friday and Saturday nights, with Friday night especially destructive.
In San Francisco, where a curfew will take effect starting at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, crowds had gathered at Beale Street in the Mission District, but had been relatively peaceful. BART’s Civic Center station was closed, and trains are not stopping there until further notice.
BART’s Bay Fair station in San Leandro was also closed Sunday night in response to a protest at the BayFair Center mall late Sunday. San Leandro police report protest-related activity at several other retail shopping centers in that city, including Marina Square and Walmart.
Police in all these places ask that the public stay away from these areas Sunday night.