Occupy Rome: Wall Street-Inspired Protest Turns Violent [VIDEO]

Occupy Rome, one of many demonstrations inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, was the first to see widespread violence.

Rome experienced its worst daily violence record in years, according to Forbes, as 135 people were injured during the Occupy Rome protests on Saturday.

Rome's citizens marched in the city, set fire to cars, smashed bank and shop windows, and created general havoc throughout the city. Police fired tear gas and water canons at protestors.

And the city spent most of Sunday cleaning up the protests' aftereffects.

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, issued a statement declaring that the people responsible for the chaos would see the proper consequences. He said the protests were a very worrying sign for civil society.

They must be condemned by everyone without reservation, Berlusconi added in the statement.

Unacceptable violence and devastation is happening right now on the streets of Rome, added Pierluigi Bersani, head of the Democratic Party.

Those who are carrying out what is nothing less than urban guerrilla warfare are hurting the cause of people around the world who are trying to freely express their discontent with the world economic situation.

Occupy Rome was one of a handful of worldwide protests Saturday that coincided with the growing momentum of Occupy Wall Street. Members of Occupy Wall Street marched peacefully on Times Square in New York on Saturday. Protests in Chicago also turned violent, as a reported 175 arrests were made.

The protests had been scheduled for months, and they were supposed to follow the relatively peaceful process that has become characteristic of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Instead, it turned to chaos and a fight between some protestors and police. The protesters wielded rocks and pebbles, launching them at windows of shops and banks - and at police. Police wielded tear gas and water canons.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno called the protestors animals. He said the damages likely totaled $1.4 million.

In the heat of the moment, it seems that today in Rome we've seen the worst in all of Europe, Alemanno told The Associated Press. Very dangerous people.