Downtown Portland businesses see broken windows, graffiti in ongoing PSU protest

Protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have taken to the streets in Portland, Oregon, with protesters spray painting, breaking windows, and setting fires in local businesses and at Portland State University's library.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have taken to the streets after police cleared the occupiers from Portland State University’s library early Thursday – leaving behind broken glass and walls covered in spray paint.

But tensions started rising long before the morning’s events. Late Wednesday night, a group of protesters left the South Park Blocks and marched through downtown Portland.

Police reported people in the crowd smashed windows at the university's campus safety office, and one PSU student told KOIN 6 News they saw people spraying graffiti on the building.

Another student journalist, Gabriel Elmosleh, recorded a video of people in black taking hammers to the windows at a nearby Starbucks.

KOIN 6 News reporter Lisa Balick found a smashed bank ATM in the area along with spray paint at the Nordstrom and Apple Store across the street. Police also reported a commercial-grade mortar – not detonated – that their bomb squad had to remove.

In a joint press conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor Ted Wheeler questioned the damage of local businesses in a protest over the ongoing Gaza-Israel conflict.

“If you believe that by damaging a business, which frankly harms the front line employees who work in those businesses – we have reports that they were frightened, that they were traumatized,” Wheeler said. “If you believe that damaging these businesses or trashing a library on a university campus will impact events in the Middle East, you are delusional.”

But PSU isn’t the only place that has seen unrest in the past 24 hours. More than a dozen Portland police training vehicles were damaged or destroyed at a training facility on Northeast Airport Way overnight.

When officers arrived, they said they found 15 vehicles inside the fenced training area burning. The fires were put out and no injuries were reported. However, police say this incident is being investigated as a separate arson.

Governor Tina Kotek released a statement condemning the acts of vandalism at Portland State University and at the Portland police training facility early Thursday morning.

”I fully condemn the criminal actions taken Thursday morning that resulted in the burning of 15 Portland Police Bureau cars, endangering first responders and the surrounding community. I have absolutely no tolerance for discriminatory harassment, violence, or property damage. This includes the acts of vandalism seen this week at the Portland State University library and against nearby businesses. These actions are in direct opposition to Oregon values and threaten working people, families, businesses, and our community as a whole. The Oregon State Police have launched a response on the outer perimeter of Portland State University. The state is prepared to exercise the full extent of the law.”

District Attorney Mike Schmidt also condemned the “criminal acts” of those who have spray painted, broken windows and set fires in the area. He, along with Portland police, said they would review photo and video evidence in the pursuit of charging more people with crimes.

“We value the right for our voices to be heard,” District Attorney Mike Schmidt said. “I’ll always work to protect that right. …But unfortunately, we have seen that some people have resorted to destructive behavior which is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.