I was in Emeryville last night when a large number of people, most of them young, started attacking the local stores. I knew the risks so I took one camera only, wrapped the strap around my wrist with several loops, approached the crowd and started taking pictures. A few minutes later, someone punched me hard in the head from the back and I fell to the ground while hearing “take his camera”. They tried to take it but they could only drag me for several feet. I managed to set myself free and run away. I came back a few minutes later to photograph the police moving in and making arrests. I ended up with a busted lens hood , filter and a sore shoulder because of the dragging.
Looters took advance of the ongoing protests to rob stores like this Best Buy store in Emeryville , CA, on May 30, 2020.
Protests, some of them violent, started nationwide following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, who passed away while pleading with arresting officers that he couldn’t breathe as one of the officers was shown on video kneeling on his neck.