By
The Associated Press
SEATTLE - Police in riot gear used pepper spray, rubber bullets and concussion bombs to break up Mardi Gras festivities early yesterday in the second straight day of violence tied to the celebration.
Police said several people in a crowd of about 2,000 threw bottles, rocks and firecrackers at officers soon after bars closed at about 1:30 a.m.
A half-dozen people were arrested, most on assault charges. One person was injured in a stabbing, and a police officer suffered a broken arm.
Some in the crowd smashed car and store windows and tried to turn over a bus, police said. Police said the violence grew worse after they arrested a man suspected of armed robbery.
A day earlier police used pepper spray and rubber bullets because revelers were throwing rocks and bottles. Officers beefed up their forces after the first night of violence, and removed garbage cans and newspaper boxes from a popular party area for fear that people would throw them.
Organizers had no immediate plans to cancel Mardi Gras events scheduled through Tuesday night, but police said they would continue to prepare for large crowds and people drinking.
Last year's Mardi Gras celebration in Seattle had similar disturbances. It came within months of the protests that shut down a meeting of the World Trade Organization.
