Volunteers flock to downtown Aurora to help after night of violence and looting

Hundreds of volunteers, many armed with brooms and other cleaning supplies, were working to make repairs in downtown Aurora Monday morning following an evening of violence and looting.

There were so many volunteers, in fact, that some said they couldn't find anything to actually clean.

"It's our city and it's heartbreaking, so we came to clean it," Monique Elizondo of Aurora said as she and other volunteers worked inside the First Midwest Bank building, which was damaged by vandals and looters.

Jasmine Rios of Aurora was cleaning up broken glass in front of the same bank.

"It honestly just hurt me, seeing the city I grew up in be like this," Rios said. "There's a lot of positive memories from downtown growing up here and seeing it like this just really affected me."

The volunteer effort came in the wake of a night in which one Aurora police officer was injured, three squad cars were set ablaze and destroyed, several businesses downtown were looted.

Aurora police said protests initially were peaceful Sunday as part of an ongoing nationwide demonstration over the death of George Floyd.

However, as night fell and Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin issued a curfew, some demonstrators began turning violent, police said.

On at least two occasions, fires were set to businesses downtown, police spokesman Paris Lewbel said.

Police also reported being shot at several times while trying to enforce the curfew.

Rocks, bricks and glass bottles were thrown at officers, resulting in injuries to one officer. The condition of the officer is unknown.

Three squad cars were set on fire and destroyed, police reported.

Metea Valley High School graduate Jo Balmuri was among those who joined the protest while it was peaceful but left before any violence erupted.

After heading home and hearing of the destruction and looting downtown, Balmuri said, she returned Monday morning to help clean up.

"A lot of the people who were there to clean up today were the people protesting yesterday," Balmuri said.

Peaceful protesters from Aurora, she said, felt confident rallying in their city because they understand its diversity and "strong sense of community," which they thought would prevent violence from occurring.

"We wouldn't want to compromise that in any way," she said.

By 2:30 a.m. Monday, Aurora police reported the violence and unrest had been contained.

Officials estimated damage at $3 million.

Any businesses or residents who need to report property damage should call (630) 256-5900.

• Daily Herald staff writer Marie Wilson contributed to this report.