FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — As protests over the death of George Floyd happen all over the country, one was underway Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville.
UPDATE: Fayetteville mayor enacts curfew after looting, vandalism
The protest, which began at 3 p.m., was in addition to a protest that started around 1 p.m. in Durham. Another protest began at 5 p.m. in Raleigh.
Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville closed in advance of the protest there. A security officer said that the closure was in response to possible problems from the gathering of protesters.
Around 3:30 p.m. protesters were walking along Skibo Road near Walmart.
UPDATE: Fayetteville mayor enacts curfew after looting, vandalism
The earlier protest in Fayetteville appeared to be peaceful and included children. Traffic in the Skibo Road area was blocked by the protesters.
The protest later moved to downtown Fayetteville and remained non-violent until about 6:45 p.m.
Protesters then broke into the Market House. A U.S. flag was also burned just in front of the Market House.
Several windows were also broken at the Market House as protesters surrounded the structure.
UPDATE: Fayetteville mayor enacts curfew after looting, vandalism
By 7:15 p.m., the Market House could be seen with smoke coming from it after it was set on fire. No firefighters or police could be seen in the area.
By 8 p.m., the fire was extinguished, but by 8:45 p.m. flames could be seen coming from the structure.
Police later closed downtown to all traffic.
UPDATE: Fayetteville mayor enacts curfew after looting, vandalism
Just after 9 p.m. police said a civil emergency response unit was deployed “to protect people, property and businesses. They’re trained to react to crowd control/violence.”
Around 10:15 p.m. protesters went to Cross Creek Mall and gathered in the parking lot. Some items were looted from the JCPenney before police showed up and stopped the looting.
Before the Fayetteville protest, Mayor Mitch Colvin held a news conference where he spoke about the death of George Floyd.
