Hundreds of people, including senior Black Lives Matter leader DeRay Mckesson, were arrested across the United States over the weekend, as protests intensified against African Americans being shot by the police. The protests took place in the aftermath of the Dallas shootings, where five police officials were shot dead by a trained gunman who said he wanted to take them to task for their brutality against black people.

The two major protests where held in Louisiana – where a 37-year-old African American man Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by the police – and Minnesota, where another African American man Philando Castile was killed under similar circumstances. At least 125 people were arrested in Louisiana, and another 100 in Minnesota. Dozens of others were arrested in New York and Chicago.

With the police bringing out tear gas, smoke grenades and heavy-duty vehicles to round up the crowds, protestors said they were not being allowed to hold peaceful demonstrations. However, the Minnesota police said that several officers had been attacked with bottles.