BALTIMORE – Baltimore erupted in violence on Monday as hundreds of rioters looted stores, burned buildings and at least 15 police officers were injured following the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died after suffering a spinal injury in police custody.
The riots broke out blocks from where the funeral of Freddie Gray took place and spread through much of west Baltimore. It was the most violent protest against police treatment of African Americans since arson and gunfire in Ferguson, Missouri, last year. A state of emergency was declared by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, who sent in the National Guard, and a curfew was imposed in the majority black city from on Tuesday night, with exceptions for work and medical emergencies.
Firefighters battled numerous blazes through Monday night, including one that consumed a church’s senior center under construction in East Baltimore. Police said looting, fires and attacks against officers continued overnight. Looters sacked liquor stores, pharmacies, a shopping mall and a check-cashing store. Rioters smashed car windows outside a major hotel and twice slashed a fire hose while firefighters fought a blaze at a CVS pharmacy that had been looted before it was set on fire.