A demonstration against police brutality through Montreal's downtown streets got ugly Wednesday night when protesters began throwing projectiles and breaking storefront windows.
A crowd of 200 to 300 protesters, many wearing black and some concealing their faces with bandannas, marched a day after Montreal police shot and killed Mario Hamel and bystander Patrick Limoges.
Police maintained a presence throughout the march that wound its way through the streets of downtown from Emilie-Gamelin park, with several patrol cars trailing the demonstration and officers riding along on motorcycles and bicycles.
The police presence even extended online, as the Montreal police Twitter account provided real-time updates of the demonstration, including an announcement that the riot squad was intervening.
The crowd chanted messages like "police everywhere, justice nowhere" and "no justice, no peace, just ask the police" in what began as a peaceful protest.
But around the corner of Ste-Catherine St. and St-Urbain St., right next to police headquarters, protesters began to get a little more animated. The windows on four storefronts were broken by projectiles, and some paint-filled balloons were tossed with one hitting a police motorcycle.
The crowd was quickly dispersed by police and no arrests were made.
