RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Several buildings were set on fire as police in Rio de Janeiro clashed with thousands of teachers protesting for better pay, officials said.
More than 10,000 people marched in the city center peacefully until some protesters allegedly began throwing firebombs at public buildings as night fell, the BBC reported Tuesday.
Some demonstrators allegedly took furniture out of banks to use as barricades against the police while others tried to break into ATMs. Demonstrators allegedly smashed a City Hall gate and set fire to a bus on Rio Branco Avenue, the BBC said.
Riot police responded with tear gas.
"Without the police, there is no violence. When they are there, there always is," said protester Hugo Cryois, 23.
Teachers have been asking for a pay increase for two months and an earlier, similar protest in Sao Paulo also ended in violence.
