1 person stabbed as thousands protest in Portland; authorities earlier used tear gas on crowd

By: CNN

Posted: Jul 25, 2020 12:33 PM EDT

(CNN) -- One person was stabbed in downtown Portland early Saturday morning, police said, after another night of protests saw tear gas used on the crowd.

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said a crowd emerged outside the federal courthouse, at first peacefully listening to speakers.

About 11 p.m. local time, people began shaking a fence while other people shot fireworks over it. Police then "attempted to disperse the crowd using various munitions," the statement reads.

Federal agents also began a more forceful response to push the protesters back. Bright flashes and smoke filled the air along with the sounds of loud explosions.

Live video feeds showed federal agents dispersing tear gas and flash bangs from behind the heavy metal fence set up as a barricade between the justice center and protesters.

Before the tear gas was released, a CNN team saw a large crowd of peaceful protesters chanting "Black lives matter" and waving the flashlights on their cell phones in the air while listening to speeches.

It was unclear if police or a federal agency released the gas.

Hundreds of people remained along the fence attempting to pull or push it over while some attempted to cut the fence with power tools, the PPB said. People in the crowd were armed with gas masks, shields, leaf blowers, power tools, fireworks and lasers, the PPB statement said.

Portland has had protests for more than 50 days since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

President Donald Trump said federal officers were sent to the city to protect federal property, but protesters and local leaders have strongly opposed their presence.

Stabbing suspect in custody

At around 2:30 a.m. local time, police received a report of a stabbing at Southwest 5th Avenue and Southwest Salmon Street, at which point medics on the scene provided first aid to the victim, who was then taken to a hospital by ambulance, PPB said.

One suspect was taken into custody and the investigation into the incident is ongoing, the PPB statement reads.

The crowd appeared larger than on previous nights and included a diverse group of demonstrators. Joining the so-called "wall of moms" were veterans supporting Black Lives Matter, medical workers in scrubs, and attorneys.

A small group broke away from the larger crowd and began rocking a section of the fence back and forth and tossing fireworks into the barricaded area at around 10:45 p.m. Federal agents responded with a small release of flash bangs and a few canisters of tear gas.

As the group of agitators continued rocking the fence and tossing fireworks across the barricade, federal agents appeared to escalate their response, the CNN team observed.

A large group of the more peaceful protesters appeared to react to the the smaller group of agitators, by walking over and seeming to try to calm the situation.