A group of Seattle protesters marched towards Capitol Hill Sunday afternoon, causing significant damage to stores, injury to officers and what police claim to be "small fire" in their East Precinct.

There were also reported damages on the West Precinct, according to a Seattle police spokesperson. The protesters allegedly threw rocks, bottles, and other items at the officers, said a report from Seattle Times.

At least two people were arrested and a police officer was and sent to the hospital, reported Fox News. There are more injured officers but only one of them was hospitalized as fragments hit his neck and throat area, noted NBC affiliate KING-TV.

According to police, the protesters broke several windows in the East Precinct and threw a device into their lobby, igniting a small fire. The precinct fire was put out later on and no one was injured, they said.

The demonstration started around 2 to 3 in the afternoon near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street. In a photo posted on the traffic channel of Seattle's DOT, the crowds can be seen taking up space in the intersection.

Damage to Businesses

The Seattle protest was also a venue for looting, police claims. Amazon's headquarters in Seattle was one of the stores that received damages as it had some reports of vandalism.

A video clip tweeted by Seattle journalist Katie Daviscourt around 2 p.m. backed this up as it showed a crowd of people outside the building. Some of them were spray-painting the building and others tried to smash the windows. Daviscourt said the protest had turned into a "riot".

A Walgreens on Pine also received damage as seen in a video posted by Elizabeth Turnball on Twitter. The store's doors were smashed.

In a press conference Sunday evening, police said they think the demonstration was some kind of joint effort "to target specific businesses and government buildings and do property destruction and vandalism."

Police said there was a group of peaceful protesters that gathered in Westlake Park for hours on Sunday. The separate "destruction and damage" group arrived, carrying baseball bats.

They marched from Westlake Park to the Municipal Courthouse, where they broke windows. "These are criminal acts, not peaceful protests," police said.

Violence in Seattle Protests

Seattle drew the attention of the nation after activists set up zones dubbed "Capitol Hill Occupied Protests", or CHOP. The zones occupied several blocks around a park in a period of about two weeks.

They later changed their name to the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone," or CHAZ.

CHAZ became a police-free zone for the weeks it took on the streets until violent crimes started to rise. The city made its move to take back the zone.

After two deadly shootings, Seattle's mayor ordered the zone cleared.

The demonstration came amid calls to defund the police after men dying under police custody sparked controversy about systemic racism and police brutality. Protests span from big to small crowds and took place almost every night since late May.

The use of tear gas, blast balls and other crowd control weapons against peaceful protesters was barred by the city council and a federal judge but the ordinance is not going to take effect until later this month.

Want to read more? Check these out!