MONTREAL (CelebrityAccess) — Residents of Montreal are still cleaning up after a riot during the closing weekend of the annual Francofolies music festival left 20 downtown buildings, including the city's police headquarters, vandalized.
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Cmdr. Vincent Rocher of the Montreal said that approximately 100 people took part in the riot, which broke out near an outdoor stage at the festival. An eyewitness told the CBC that rioters were throwing rocks and poles at police and appeared to attack the police station.
"It looked like a fight, then we noticed they were attacking the police station," eyewitness Steven Hoffart told the CBC.
"Police came out in their full riot gear and started pushing people back. People started throwing cans and glass at them. They pushed the people back towards the theater and the police set up a perimeter for about an hour or two."
Six police officers were reported to be lightly injured in the incident and two men have been arrested; one for attacking a police officer and a second man was arrested for obstructing police, the CBC said.
Police told the CBC that the riot may have started as a fight between concert-goers, but the crowd quickly turned its attention to buildings along St-Urbain Street. Police said that the damage is extended to the area between St-Denis and Drummond streets. – Staff Writers
