There were some heated moments at a Black Lives Matter gathering Wednesday evening.

The Waterloo Region chapter of Black Lives Matter held a solidarity protest in front of Kitchener City Hall.

It was one of several rallies held across Canada to demand justice for a Somali-Canadian man who died after a confrontation with Ottawa police in late July.

Tamon Scarlett, co-organizer of the Kitchener rally, says the protest is not only a show of support for victim Abdirahman Abdi, but for all black people who have been killed by police in Canada.

“Today we are demanding justice for Abdirahman, and it’s bigger also than Abdirahman. It is every person who has been murdered by police.”

Shortly after the rally began the protesters were briefly shouted at and harassed by a small number of bystanders.

The demonstrators continued their march to the police station on Frederick Street, where a sit-in was staged.