Mission District vandalized by protesters

This morning Mission District residents woke up to their neighborhood littered in broken glass and trash. While everyone slept last night, protesters spent the night vandalizing the district.

No one was spared, from police stations to art studios and vehicles, nearly everything in sight had the group’s mark on it.

The vandals were part of a group that marched from Dolores Park shortly after 9 p.m., following a rally prior to Tuesday’s planned Occupy general strike, according to police.

The masked protesters proceeded to take up arms and trash buildings and cars all the way down 18th Street and onto Valencia Street. They smashed windows with crowbars and signs, threw paint bombs on buildings and spray-painted anarchy symbols on whatever blank surface they could find.

Adam Koskoff, manager of the Locanda restaurant on Valencia, was working Monday night when several protesters tried smashing in the windows of the busy restaurant. He told SFGate:

“All I heard was, ‘bang, bang, bang,’ and some dude had the valet sign, trying to break our window. I didn’t even see the crowd, and I ran outside and got egged.”

The vandals then continued to throw paint and eggs and smashed windows at more than 30 businesses, including Tartine Bakery at 18th and Guerrero streets.

The group then took it a step further when they began throwing paint bombs and smashing glass at the Mission police station at 17th and Valencia streets. Around 15 officers dressed in riot gear stood guard at the police station while other officers went to survey the neighborhood’s damage.

As of 11 p.m. last night, only one person had been arrested.

Koskoff said that he didn’t understand the protesters’ motives:

“They’re coming through the Mission, where there aren’t any corporations, just a lot of small businesses, which is what they’re all about. It doesn’t make sense.”

Although the group came from an Occupy rally, other Occupy protesters claim that they aren’t associated with this group of vandals.

If you want to see more of the damage for yourself, check out these videos bystanders recorded.