Police are searching for suspects in an attack that hurt two teenage sisters Friday in response to protests against the police shooting of a California man.
A group of protesters wearing Black Lives Matter shirts held a vigil for Colby Friday, an African American man who was shot and killed by Stockton police in August after he ignored an officer’s command to drop his weapon, CBS 13 reported.
Police say two Caucasian girls passed by the protest after they left a local restaurant when the protesters attacked.
The protest, which was supposed to be a peaceful vigil remembering Colby, turned into a violent brawl against two teenage girls.
“Our understanding is that it involved several out-of-towners whose intent was more than protesting,” said Ron Freitas, the assistant district attorney for San Joaquin County to CBS 13.
The two sisters suffered non-life threatening injuries to their faces and bodies, CBS 13 reported.
The victims say the attack was racially motivated because they are white, according to police.
Stockton police say that the protesters were associated with the Black Lives Matter movement to protest police shootings against blacks.
CBS 13 found that there is no formal Black Lives Matter group in Stockton, and the Sacramento chapter says that they were not involved in the attacks or the protest.
No charges have been filed against anyone yet, and police are looking through surveillance footage for details about how the violence unfolded.
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