
Donald Trump has hit out at 'thugs' and 'criminals' who protested a rally in Albuquerque last night which turned violent when demonstrators trying to disrupt his speech clashed with riot police, set fire to flags and sent people running in fear over the sound of a 'gunshot'.

Around 100 protesters broke through a barricade outside the building shortly after Trump took to the stage, trying to throw rocks through a window and at police, and setting fires on the street outside.

One officer said that a shot was fired from a pellet gun, and a second officer said it was a bullet - though subsequent reports have cast doubts over the 'gunfire'.

Smoke canisters erupted through the streets as police tried to surround the protesters, while multiple officers are being treated for injuries and one protester has been arrested, police told Daily Mail Online. Protesters were also reportedly chanting 'Viva Mexico' while setting fire to pro-Trump flags.

Trump took to his Twitter account on Wednesday morning to say: 'The protesters in New Mexico were thugs who were flying the Mexican flag. The rally inside was big and beautiful, but outside, criminals!'

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Thugs and criminals waving Mexican flags? Donald Trump took to Twitter to hit out at protesters, much like the ones pictured, outside his rally in Albuquerque; several clashed with police after throwing rocks and setting fires in the street

Make America Burn Again? Some protesters could be seen lighting fire to a Trump flag which resembled The Stars and Stripes of America

A young man runs throw the smoke and crowds as the anti-Trump demonstration in Albuquerque last night descended into chaos

About 100 protesters broke through a barricade outside the building shortly after Trump took to the stage, and tried to throw rocks through a window. Others set fires on the street and threw rocks at police (pictured)

Riot police pepper spray demonstrators outside the Albuquerque Convention Center after the rally, which turned violent amid the protests

Defiant: A protester faces the riot police who were armed with batons and wearing gas masks as the scene unraveled into chaos late last night

Retreat: Protesters help a fellow demonstrator who was affected by the smoke and pepper spray used by police to disburse the crowd outside Trump's Albuquerque rally

Riot police run across the street during the confrontation as anti-Trump protests erupt in front of the Albuquerque Convention Center

Mounted riot police approach the crowds as protesters were cornered and rounded up during the highly-charged confrontation

Not mincing his words: This sign in Spanish reads, 'Trump, ch***a tu madre' - which translates to 'Trump, f*** your mom'

Riot control officers, armed with breathing masks, helmets, padding and batons stand ready to engage with protesters

A man and two women flash peace signs at police who stand blocking reporters from entering the convention center in Albuquerque

A woman wearing a Bernie Sanders 'Feel the Bern' t-shirt stands before a police blockade outside the building where the rally was held

A protester against Donald Trump holds a burning t-shirt (left) and another (right) brandishes a sign calling the mogul a 'facist' [sic]

A mounted policeman's horse falls over amid the chaos which erupted last night. The event was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city with a large immigrant population

Outraged: Trump was furious last night at being interrupted during his speech and then took to Twitter to hit out at the ugly scenes that took place outside his rally, accusing them of being 'thugs who were flying the Mexican flag'

Albuquerque Police locked down the convention center's main hall, which was empty except for staff, security and reporters filing stories.

Activists outside had tried to force their way in as Trump was finishing an hour-long speech, but a line of police forced them back. One table holding a vendor's Trump merchandise was set on fire, and protesters threw flaming t-shirts at police.

They responded with smoke canisters and pepper spray in an effort to disperse the crowd.

Some could be seen waving the Mexican flag chanting 'Viva Mexico', while others were seen setting fire to a Trump flag that resembled the Stars and Stripes, according to Fox News.

Inside the rally, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers.

The banners included the messages 'Trump is Fascist' and 'We've heard enough.'

He responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions by telling them to 'Go home to mommy'.

He responded to one demonstrator by asking, 'How old is this kid?' He then provided his own answer: 'Still wearing diapers.'

Trump's supporters responded with chants of 'Build that wall!'

Protesters outside overran barricades and clashed with police in riot gear. They also burned T-shirts and other items labeled with Trump's catchphrase, 'Make America Great Again.' The scenes were reminiscent of a rally which was postponed in Chicago back in March when supporters of Trump and demonstrators clashed.

Inside the convention center, the billionaire boasted that there was 'no safer place on earth' than at one of his rallies.

Much of his speech was dedicated to blasting Hillary Clinton, his likely rival in the general election later this year.

He called Clinton 'Obama-lite' during his speech, which lasted more than an hour saying that 'it's hard to believe you could get lighter than Obama.'

'Hillary can't even put away Bernie!' he said, referring to the scrappy Senator Bernie Sanders, who is giving her the fight of her life in the Democratic primary.

A Trump supporter poses for a photograph while a protester is removed from the crowd behind him by police during Trump's speech

During the rally, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers

The banners included the messages 'Trump is Fascist' and 'We've heard enough'. Pictured is a protester wearing an 'I love NM [New Mexico] t-shirt being removed from the building

As good as they get: Supporters of Trump shout encouragement as law enforcement removes to men from the crowd before the Republican presumptive candidate took to the stage

'Crooked Hillary, she can't put him away.'

'I gotta give him credit,' he said later. 'Crazy Bernie's out there trying hard.'

But he went out of his way to clobber Clinton on her personal speaking habits as much as for her policy ideas.

'I will never say this,' he said - and then said it. 'She screams. it drives me crazy. I can't listen!'

He complained that Clinton had passed judgment on his pattern of turning a profit by buying distressed and foreclosed housing and reselling it at a profit when the market turned upward.

'She goes, "And Donald Trump is a terrible person! And he wanted to buy housing when it was at a low point!"'

'Who the hell doesn't?' he yelled, drawing a mixture of laughing and cheers.

He also reserved plenty of insults for Elizabeth Warren, the woman he claims will be Clinton's running mate, and with whom he has an ongoing Twitter fight.

'How old is this kid?' Trump responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions by telling them to 'Go home to mommy'

Much of his speech was dedicated to blasting Hillary Clinton, his likely rival in the general election later this year, calling her 'Obama-lite'

Popularity contest: He may have been disrupted, but Trump had lots of fans in attendance, including one person who wanted the presumptive nominee to sign his US Border Patrol baseball cap; he also appeared to sign a woman's T-shirt

'You know, Hillary Clinton has somebody. Did you ever hear of Pocahontas? It's Pocahontas, Elizabeth Warren!' he shouted to thousands gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Warren famously described herself as a native American, based on a tiny branch of her family tree, in order to gain preferential treatment in law school hiring.

'She said she was an Indian!' Trump laughed. 'She said because her cheekbones were so high, she was an Indian! That she's Native American! ... We're getting wise to what's happening. It's a big scam.'

Trump also returned to a theme from last week's National Rifle Association convention in Louisville, Kentucky, where he received the gun-rights lobby group's endorsement.

Clinton 'wants to take your guns away and she wants to abolish the Second Amendment,' he claimed.

And he insisted that Clinton's economic plan would disadvantage black teens whose unemployment rate is far above the national average.