Following an evening in downtown Trenton where people set two police vehicles ablaze, smashed windows and clashed and ransacked local stores, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora addressed the crisis in his city.

Please go here to see the mayor, who imposed a curfew in effect until Monday.

“The crowds, which was many people from out of town, some were from in town, decided that their productivity would be by starting to loot stores on West State Street. I don’t really think looting a sneaker store or a liquor store is really productive or the discussion going,” said Gusciora.

Police made several arrests, he added.

InsiderNJ’s earlier coverage can be found here:

A peaceful rally in New Jersey’s capital city metamorphosed into two police cars getting set on fire and bank windows smashed on Sunday at the corner of West State and Broad as destruction imperiled cities around the country.

Calls from Trenton to Hamilton for assistance were met with more alarming news.

Someone had set the Walmart in that neighboring town ablaze.

The day started out well, by all accounts, and sources insist that one event – the rally – not be conflated with the other – mayhem. Hundreds of people participated in a peaceful show of support in Trenton for the late George Floyd, killed by police last week in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“I went to the rally in the afternoon and it was peaceful and I came home,” said Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson.

Destructive individuals surfaced after the justice rally, however, and that is when the trouble started.

Sources described Trenton activists clashing with activists not from the capital city, intruders crashing the scene with intentions separate from the marchers.

“It seems to be a lot of out-of-towners going from town to town and causing all kinds of trouble,” a source said.