Police and media reported that five U.S. police officers were shot and wounded Tuesday during a protest against the killing of George Floyd, a black man in custody.
President Donald Trump erupted in anger Monday in front of a White House church after law enforcement officers used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear protesters.
According to media reports, the US Secret Service, accusing the president of protecting him, was shut down on Tuesday until it reached the streets around the White House.
Protesters set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles, looted stores in New York City, and clashed with police in St. Louis, Missouri, where four officers were taken to hospital with fatal injuries.
John Hayden, an emotional St. Louis police commissioner, said about 200 protesters were throwing and throwing fireworks and stones at officers.
'They had officers who were gassed. What's going on? How can this be? Mr Floyd has been killed elsewhere and is tearing down cities across the country,' he told reporters.
A police officer was shot dead during a protest in Las Vegas, police said in a statement. Another officer was involved in "firing" in the area, police said. Elsewhere, police said officers were injured in clashes, including a man who was in critical condition after being hit by a car in the Bronx.
President Trump has condemned the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who died after being beaten below the knee by a nine-year-old police officer in Minneapolis, and has promised justice.
But, with marches and rallies for racial equality and violent incidents late every day last week against police brutality, he said protests could not be stopped by "angry mobs".
'If a city or state refuses to take the necessary steps to protect the lives and property of its residents, I will deploy a U.S. military and resolve the issue for them soon,' Trump said.
Floyd's death has fueled racial tensions in a politically divided country plagued by the Coronavirus epidemic, while African Americans suffer from disproportionate cases.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker urged patience Tuesday, saying Americans can work through these tough issues. He promised legal action if Trump posed a military threat.
'We can lower the temperature, but not when the president stands up for troops, law, and order, and domination,' he told the MSCBC. 'We will fight him, and we will take him to federal court.'
In a separate MSNBC interview Tuesday, Washington DC Mayor Moriel Bowser said there were no signs of U.S. military activity in the city overnight.
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