Chaos erupted late in the evening when a mob descended on the encampment spraying aerosol irritants, tearing down barricades, beating people with metal poles and wooden planks and launching fireworks,
The Daily Bruin
, UCLA’s student-run newspaper, reported.
Former student Ismael Sindha, who was at the encampment, told the newspaper that he saw people crying, lying on the floor and "bleeding from their heads."
The clash went on for hours before law enforcement officers arrived, igniting criticism over the department's slow response. As a result, UCLA police chief John Thomas was temporarily reassigned, pending an examination of the security processes, the school said in a
statement
Wednesday.
Thomas told the Los Angeles Times in an interview earlier this month that he did "everything I could" to provide security and keep students safe during weeks of unrest over the Israel and Hamas war.
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza has led to intense divides on U.S. college campuses. Pro-Palestinian protests,
some of which have been met with law enforcement crackdowns
, have been held at numerous campuses in response to the war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, did not say what Thomas' new role would be. Gawin Gibson was named acting chief of police.
Campus authorities said they are still working to identify other people involved with protests or counterprotest activities between April 25 and May 2.