A massive event that police say was sponsored by a skateboarding magazine led to late-night chaos in downtown Los Angeles, with footage showing crowds vandalizing a driverless robotaxi and clashing with law enforcement.
The gathering grew throughout Saturday evening near 1st Street and Hill Street, drawing hundreds of skateboarders and spectators. Citizen app videos showed people smashing the windows of a Waymo vehicle, hitting it with skateboards and climbing onto the vehicle while crowds cheered. In another clip, skateboarders were seen skating toward officers as police formed a line across the intersection.
LAPD declared a modified tactical alert as officers attempted to disperse the crowd. Police said some attendees threw bottles and parts of skateboards, while one person “riding a skateboard at speed attempted to run into a line of officers,” Central Division wrote on X.
The department said officers used less-lethal tactics to clear streets and documented damage to vehicles and nearby property.
LAFD responded to evaluate at least one injured person, although a condition was not immediately known.
Traffic in the area was shut down, and police urged the public to avoid the downtown Civic Center streets. It was not clear whether any arrests were made.
This remains an active investigation. Authorities have not identified the event organizer and did not provide details on how the gathering was promoted or permitted.
Luis Zuniga, Vanessa Garcia and Sam Bader contributed to this report.
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