Huge fires set across Baltimore as Freddie Gray rioters torch city, loot stores and injure fifteen police officers as violence rages into the night and local politicians are left turning on each other
This is a map showing where violence erupted across Baltimore, Maryland during the riots that stretched from Monday into Tuesday
Hundreds of youths outside a mall in northwest Baltimore are clashing violently with police in riot gear, throwing rocks, bricks and bottles at the officers. Baltimore police say on Twitter that several officers have been injured. Officers are using pepper-spray
Aggression: Youths taunt police as protests over the death of Freddie Gray escalate in Baltimore after the funeral of Freddie Gray
Confrontation: A police vehicle chases protestors away in a parking lot along Reisterstown Road near Mondawmin Malll on Monday
Fight and fright: A young boy throws a rock at a police van while a woman flees from her car after a smoke grenade lands nearby to her
Police are urging parents to locate their children and bring them home. Here, a group of youths are seen throwing bricks and rocks
Earlier, Captain Eric Kowalczyk confirmed that the police would be using tear gas to break up the riots, as well as rubber bullets.
‘We have officers deployed throughout the city and will continue to keep the city safe,’ said Kowalczyk, who described the city as a war zone.
‘Our officers our working appropriately to arrest those who without provocation attack out police officers.
‘I have seven injured officers, one is unresponsive and some have broken bones. This is not okay. We will find the people responsible and put them in jail
‘This is a lawless group of individuals.’
The majority of those throwing rocks and smoke grenades at the police appeared to be young men and the violence caused the University of Maryland Baltimore to close early on Monday.
Initially appearing to struggle to contain the demonstrators, police tactical teams arrived and they were pelted with bottles and rocks and the Baltimore Sun reported that ‘several’ officers were injured.
The clashes followed a widely circulated flier promising a ‘purge’ at 3pm to start at Mondawmin Mall which would end downtown.
The popular meme is based on the movie, ‘The Purge’ which imagines a lawless city.
A statement from the university said: ‘Due to reports from the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) concerning scheduled activities today beginning at 3pm, UMB will close today at 2pm at the recommendation of the BPD.
‘These activities may be potentially violent and UMB could be in the path of any violence.
‘The safety of our students and employees is of paramount importance please vacate the campus as soon as possible.’
The measures by the university follow police in Baltimore deciding to go on high alert over fears their officers will now be targeted in revenge killings following the death of Mr Gray.
The Baltimore PD said they were now taking ‘appropriate precautions’ to ensure they safety of their officers, although they did not say what they were.
The worrying development comes as family and mourners gathered for the funeral of Gray and spoke about the injuries suffered by the 25-year-old.
During the service, the Gray family attorney launched a scathing attack on the Baltimore Police Department.
Bill Murphy said that the six Baltimore police officers suspended after a man suffered serious spinal injuries while in custody should come clean to the public what happened.
Murphy’s remarks about the officers drew a standing ovation at the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died April 19, days after his encounter with police.
The 2,500-capacity New Shiloh Baptist church was filled with mourners, many of whom filed past Gray’s casket before the service began.
‘This is our moment to get at truth. This is our moment to get it right,’ Murphy said.
Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings of Maryland spoke movingly and powerfully at the funeral saying, ‘To mother Gloria and to the entire family, I want you to know we stand with you during this difficult time.’
The service was led by the Rev. Jamal Bryant who delivered the eulogy and spoke of the difficulties suffered by young, black and poor men.
He said that black people need to confront the government and police to change.
‘This is not the time for us as a people to be sitting on a corner drinking malt liquor. This is not the time for us to be playing lottery,’ he said.
Get your black self up and change this city,’ said Bryant.. ‘I don’t know how you can be black in America and be silent.
‘With everything we’ve been through, ain’t no way in the world you can sit here and be silent in the face of injustice.’
The Rev. Jesse Jackson also spoke and reminded everyone of the burden all of society must face to be equal. ‘When society is sick and mean, the innocent will be slain,’ said Jackson.
He pointed to the example of Baltimore itself and its poverty stricken westside, which is overwhelmingly black and the white, prosperous downtown.
Clashes: Baltimore police officers push back demonstrators who were throwing rocks at the police after riots erupted in the city
Violence erupts: Police drag an injured colleague away from an angry mob who began to pelt riot officers hours after the funeral
Unified: Baltimore police officers rush towards demonstrators after they threw rocks and bottles at the police
Chaos: A Baltimore police cruiser is set upon by dozens of rioters. They broke the windows and vandalized the car
Protestors threw rocks and stones at dozens of police in riot gear just hours after Gray was laid to rest at a service attend by 2,500
Violence: Demonstrators throw rocks at the police after the funeral of Freddie Gray. The police struggled to contain them at first
Baltimore police officers detain a demonstrator after clashes with police, after the funeral of Freddie Gray
Baltimore police officer sprays pepper spry to demonstrators in an effort to control the crowd on Monday afternoon after the funeral
Hundreds: Officers had to battle hundreds of rioters as the protests unfolded on Monday afternoon in Baltimore and the police began to make arrests as they confronted the rioters
A demonstrator taunts police near to Mondawmin Mall after violent protests erupted in Baltimore and hundreds of rioters clashes with heavily armed riot police (right)
Arrests: Two mean are taken into custody during the riots that broke out in Baltimore on Monday afternoon
‘Sixteen thousand abandoned or vacant homes, 25 percent unemployment — we don’t need more police, we need more jobs,’ said Jackson.
‘Why can’t the west side get the same things downtown gets?’
Jackson also said there have been 110 deaths at the hands of police since 2010. ‘Fred wasn’t number one, he was number one-one-one,’ said Jackson.
‘We are here because we feel threatened,’ said Jackson. ‘All of our sons are at risk.’
In an emotional reading, Gray’s stepfather, Richard Shipley recited a poem written by his sister’s Missy and Carolina.
‘The tears I have cried for you could flood the earth,’ read Shipley.
The 11am service at the city’s New Shiloh Baptist Church was also attended by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Elijah Cummings and the Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
A small group of mourners lined up about two hours ahead of the funeral. As they began filing into the church, the white casket with Gray’s body was opened, flanked by floral arrangements. A rope was placed in front of the casket to prevent people from getting too close. One person used a cellphone to take a photo of the body.
Placed atop Gray’s body was a white pillow with a screened picture of him. A projector aimed at two screens on the walls showed the words ‘Black Lives Matter & All Lives Matter.’
On Sunday, the White House said the head of President Barack Obama’s initiative for young men of color would attend the funeral. Broderick Johnson, chairman of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force and a Baltimore native, is to be joined by two other administration officials, according to the White House.
At Gray’s wake Sunday, mourners who didn’t even know him filed in a steady stream for hours into a funeral home. Some supporters stood outside with signs that read, ‘We remember Freddie’ and ‘Our Hearts Are With The Gray Family.’
Melissa McDonald, 36, who said she was Gray’s cousin, wore a shirt with ‘Freddie Forever’ printed on the back. She described her cousin as a nonviolent person.
‘He didn’t deserve to die the way he did,’ she said.
Open casket; A tearful friend goes to put her hand on the head of Freddie Gray inside his coffin as she filed past to pay her last respects to the 25-year-old
A mother’s grief: Gloria Darden hugs her son Freddie Gray’s body before his funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church
Gloria Darden, mother of Freddie Gray who died following an arrest by the Baltimore police department, sits by the casket at his burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland
Gray’s wake followed demonstrations Saturday that turned violent. Roughly 1,200 protesters rallied outside City Hall on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
A smaller group splintered off and looted a convenience store and smashed storefront windows.
A protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd.
Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars.
Some 34 people were arrested, according to Baltimore Police Department, and six police officers sustained minor injuries.
During a news conference on Sunday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called for protesters to be peaceful.
Saying goodbye: Mourner arrive at the open casket of Gray after lining up for hours to see the body of the 25-year-old
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) speaks during Freddie Gray’s funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church (left) and hugs the Rev. Jesse Jackson
Passionate: Elijah Cummings (D-MD)speaks out during the funeral. Eddie Gray suffered fatal injuries while in police custody on April 12
‘At the end of the day, we are one Baltimore. We need to support peaceful demonstration and continue to enforce in our communities that rioting, violence, and looting will not be tolerated in our city,’ the mayor said. ‘Together we can be one Baltimore and seek answers as we seek justice and as we seek peace.’
Gray’s death has prompted near-daily demonstrations. Gray was arrested one week before he died when officers chased him through a West Baltimore neighborhood and dragged him into a police van.
Police said Gray was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away. Officers held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into the van. While inside, he became irate and leg cuffs were put on him, police have said.
Gray asked for medical help several times, beginning before he was placed in the van. After a 30-minute ride that included three stops, paramedics were called.
Authorities have not explained how or when Gray’s spine was injured.
Police acknowledged on Friday that Gray should have received medical attention on the spot where he was arrested – before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the police department’s policy.