By Darren Lyn
HOUSTON, US (AA) - A frightening scene occurred at a pro-Palestinian rally at Portland State University in Oregon on Thursday when a driver accelerated his car toward a crowd of protestors before trying to flee the scene.
Video of the incident caught on camera by a bystander shows the man revving the engine of his white Toyota Camry as he accelerates the vehicle in a jerky motion toward the demonstrators. People start screaming at the driver and hitting his car before he suddenly stops, exits the vehicle, and starts spraying what appears to be pepper spray at protesters trying to confront him as he tries to flee the scene.
Police eventually detained the driver, and the Portland Police Bureau issued a statement saying the man was taken to a hospital and placed on a police mental health hold.
The potentially dangerous incident took place just hours after officers removed protesters from a campus library that had been occupied by demonstrators since Monday. Police said they made 22 arrests.
Portland State University is one of several college campuses across the United States where protesters have been calling on university administrators to stop doing business with Israel or companies they believe are supporting the war in Gaza.
Other major universities conducting pro-Palestinian demonstrations include Columbia University in New York, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested over the past two weeks at university demonstrations across the US, according to media outlets.