Businesses were told to close early on Friday afternoon just before the El Cajon Police Department released video of the shooting of Alfred Olango.
Downtown El Cajon Business Partners issued a statement on its website encouraging all downtown businesses to close at 2 p.m., and remain closed until at least Sunday morning.
It was the latest response to protests that have ignited the small city east of San Diego since the unarmed black man was shot by El Cajon police on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s my hope that nothing happens, but we all need to exercise an abundance of caution,” Daryl Priest, the president of Downtown El Cajon Business Partners, said in a statement.
As El Cajon police and San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis released surveillance and cellphone video of the shooting of an unarmed black, about a dozen demonstrators congregated at a nearby parking lot.
The protesters huddled around and watched the video on their cellphones. Afterward, several expressed outrage over the shooting.
"To me, I seen someone stalking their prey -- got in on him and killed him," said protester Christopher Jackson. "That's what I seen."
Friday afternoon, the small number of protesters in El Cajon were peaceful.
In the evening, the protestors began marching down the road at Mollison and Broadway. El Cajon Police issued a traffic advisory for drivers to avoid the area.
Protesters chanted "no justice, no peace" as they marched down the road, blocking an intersection in the area. Police were also in the area, monitoring the demonstrations.
Local
The protests were peaceful.
Earlier in the day, Cajon Valley Union School district released students early from class as a safety precaution. A number of community events were also canceled this week.
Protests turned violent on Thursday night, the third day of protests, as some demonstrators broke car windows and, in one case, pushed a man off a motorcycle.
The exchange prompted police and sheriff's deputies in riot gear to move in closer to the protesters. Law enforcement officials ordered the crowd to disperse.
Protesters then began throwing water bottles and beers cans at officers and refused to leave. Officers on scene then deployed pepper-spray balls.
