Five injured, 80 nabbed in Oakland rallies

US: Anti-corporatism demonstrations turn violent in the western US city of Oakland in the state of California, injuring five protesters and leading to more than 80 arrests.

Violence broke out on Thursday after the police started to attack the nearly-20,000-strong protesters, using tear gas canisters and beanbags, said the City Administrator's Office.

Three police officers were also wounded in the violence, AFP reported. The protests have been bubbling up for the past two days in support of a citywide call for strike action made by organizers on Wednesday.

Hundreds of teachers and nurses acknowledged the call on Thursday and joined the rallies.

The Oakland protests are being held in support of the nationwide 'Occupy Wall Street' movement, which evolved on September 17 in protest at 'corporate greed' and high-level corruption.

The rallies gained momentum in Oakland after security forces hit Scott Olsen, a former US Marine and an Iraq war veteran, with a tear gas canister, giving him a fractured skull and causing him to be hospitalized.

Press TV