US riots: Rubber bullet gun pointed at child at Long Beach protest

Disturbing pictures from America show a police officer pointing a rubber bullet gun at a young girl, as protests grip the nation.

Incredible pictures from California show police officers pointing a rubber bullet gun in front of a man and a young girl during protests at Long Beach.

Freelance photographer Richard Grant, who took the pictures, said the main image was probably one of the most “impactful” photos he had ever taken.

“This man stood with his child most of the time until the police started using concussive grenades but they never fired on him but occasionally pointed their rubber bullet guns towards him,” he said.

Grant posted a series of photos from the Long Beach protests on his Instagram page, showing people looting and holding smoke bombs and sledgehammers.

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Freelance photographer Richard Grant took this photo of a police officer pointing a rubber bullet gun in front of a man and a child during protests at Long Beach, California. Picture: Richard Grant

The city is currently under curfew, which started at 4pm, to curtail any further violence after Sunday’s largely peaceful protests were overshadowed by looters and vandals.

Business owners arrived to broken windows and graffiti on Monday morning, with items stolen.

About 3000 people descended on Long Beach on Sunday afternoon to march in protest of George Floyd’s death, a black man who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

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Demonstrators kneel in a moment of silence outside the Long Beach Police Department on Sunday. Picture: Ashley Landis/AP

The rubber bullets were fired to try to disperse protesters and by 9pm the National Guard was called in to help respond to the looting and vandalism.

Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said they had only expected a turnout of a few hundred protesters.

“It was happening fast. It was happening furious,” he told media.

Firefighters had to put out 100 blazes across the city.

Mayor Robert Garcia said it was remarkable that nobody was killed.

A black man and a white woman hold their hands up in a front of police officers in the protests. Picture: Apu Gomes/AFP

Some protesters were injured and one reporter was hit in the neck with a rubber bullet.

KPCC reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez had just finished interviewing someone when he was struck by the pellet.

The Long Beach Police Department said 73 people were arrested for varying reasons, including vandalism, looting and curfew violations.

A man wearing a face cover looks at a looted store in downtown Long Beach. Picture: Apu Gomes/AFP

Demonstrations have hit over 70 cities across the US.

There are fears of another night of chaos in Los Angeles as thousands of people remain on the city’s streets despite a curfew.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged residents to observe the curfew.

“Please stay indoors, please stay safe and obey the law,” Mr Garcetti said in a news conference on Monday.

“You need to go home.”