George Floyd protests spread nationwide

Protests swept across a number of major American cities on Thursday, with crowds taking to the streets to demand action against police brutality and accountability for several related deaths.

Minneapolis and St. Paul, known as the “Twin Cities” of Minnesota, both saw huge protests. In St. Paul, protesters faced off against riot police, batting tear gas canisters back and forth. More than 170 businesses were looted or damaged by the protests, police said.

And in Minneapolis, thousands of protesters surrounded a police precinct and set it on fire. They spray-painted the sides of the building, tried to climb up it, and cheered as the flames engulfed the building.

All staff inside had been evacuated prior to the fire.

In Memphis, Tennessee, protesters marched through midtown for several hours. They held up signs demanding justice for several black Americans who had recently been killed — George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

The protests also escalated into violence in Louisville, Kentucky, where Taylor lived and was shot by police in March.

Shots were fired in the crowd during the protests tonight, said police special advisor Jessie Halladay.

Protests also took place in other cities like Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona.

See the full gallery of protests across the US: