LA MESA, Calif. — Tensions once again began rising on the streets of La Mesa Saturday afternoon but this time the biggest conflict happened between two groups of divided protesters.
A couple of hundred people supporting the Black Lives Matter movement began a peaceful but vocal rally near La Mesa Police Department headquarters. Then an opposing group, reportedly there to support police, also arrived on scene.
“People have the right to protest and that’s all they were doing yesterday," said Dan Buxton, owner of Play it Again Sports near Date and Allison avenues. "Our business was not affected last night."
The scene was an eerie reminder to some of a violent night two months earlier.
“There was heavy damage fire damage, looting, and smoke and water damage,” Buxton told News 8 outside his store.
A riot the last weekend of May lead to looting and widespread damage at the La Mesa Springs Shopping Center.
This time, Buxton said, that wasn’t the case.
“There was a police car pulled right up to our front door, so I knew that we were fine," he said.
Police said one person was arrested at yesterday’s protest but no one was injured
Buxton believes, in the end, the violence the city experienced two months ago isn’t what demonstrators wanted.
“I really don’t think people want to see harm done to our business,” he said. “I think that what happened was unfortunate.”