Death toll from violence at US far-right rally climbs to 3—city official

People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017. A picturesque Virginia city braced Saturday for a flood of white nationalist demonstrators as well as counter-protesters, declaring a local emergency as law enforcement attempted to quell early violent clashes.  PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP

CHARLOTTESVILLE, United States—The death toll from violence at a US far-right rally on Saturday has climbed to three, an official in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia said.

“We had folks who came here to cause mayhem and chaos and mischief that resulted in three fatalities here in the city of Charlottesville,” city manager Maurice Jones said at a news conference.

One person died when a car surged into a crowd of what witnesses said was counter-demonstrators.

The victim was a 32-year-old woman who was crossing the street when the car plowed into the intersection, Charlottesville police chief Al Thomas said.

The male driver has been taken into custody and police were treating the incident as a “criminal homicide,” he said.

Details of the other two deaths were not immediately released.

As of late Saturday afternoon, at least 35 people had been treated for injuries, ranging from life-threatening to minor, Thomas said.

Hundreds had descended on the city either to march in or rail against a “Unite the Right Rally,” a major gathering of white supremacists, nationalists and other supporters of the so-called “alt-right.”  /ra