Minneapolis police fire tear gas on crowd near Third Precinct; large fire erupts nearby

Police in Minneapolis tried to disperse a crowd gathering near the city’s Third Precinct police station on Thursday night, firing “flash bang” shots and then tear gas, according to reports.

Television images showed several officers launching the warning shots and tear gas from the roof of the police station around 9 p.m. local time.

Soon after, a large fire erupted about two blocks from the police station -- and then some demonstrators were seen breaking into the building after police officers evacuated.

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The latest developments happened as protests continued in Minnesota and elsewhere in the U.S. following Monday’s death of George Floyd, a man who died while in police custody.

Earlier Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called in the National Guard as looting broke out in St. Paul, the capital.

On Wednesday, rioters were shown vandalizing the same police station that officers were defending Thursday night.

Across the Twin Cities region, businesses were seen boarded up in a bid to prevent vandalism and looting.

Around midday Thursday, dozens of looters rushed toward a Target store in an apparent attempt to loot it but were turned away by responding police, The Associated Press reported. The crowd then moved on to other nearby stores.

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St. Paul spokesman Steve Linders said authorities were dealing with incidents in roughly 20 different parts of the city.

More unrest was reported Thursday evening in cities such as New York City, Denver and Louisville, Ky.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this story.