(Tahrir Square, photo by Cairo resident Timna Medovoy)

Over 500,000 people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, later heading to the Ittahadiya Presidential Palace.

In Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, up to 100,000 protesters gathered in the centre with more rallies in about a dozen other cities across the country. 

According to security forces, at least seven people have been killed and over 600 injured in clashes between pro- and anti- Morsi demonstrators. Towards nighttime, the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s Islamist group, also came under attack. 

Back in California, a protest for solidarity took place on Sunday afternoon in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Orange County. The demonstration was attended by Coptic as well as Muslim Egyptians, all demanding the departure of President Morsi. The demonstrators held signs such as “Morsi and Egypt don’t mix” and chanted “Freedom for Egypt” and “Get out Morsi” in Arabic.

In an interview, a Coptic-American protester expressed that he has come to the protest in order to “…stand together with fellow Egyptians despite religious differences for the common good of families back in Egypt and in order to increase the voice of Egyptians in the U.S. to gain more international recognition and participation.” Many of the demonstrators also expressed concern that President Morsi is pushing the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood and not that of the Egyptian people. 

In an interview with the Guardian, President Morsi rejected calls for a resignation, vowing that there will be no second revolution in Egypt. “If we changed someone in office who [was elected] according to constitutional legitimacy – well, there will be people opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later they will ask him to step down," he said.

Reach Executive Producer Syuzanna Petrosyan here. Follow her on Twitter.