By Scott Calvert And Kris Maher
BALTIMORE--Violent confrontations between demonstrators and
police broke out for the second time in three days on Monday, hours
after thousands of people attended the funeral for Freddie Gray, a
25-year-old black man who died under police custody earlier this
month.
Along several busy intersections near the Mondawmin Mall in
northwest Baltimore, in a neighborhood near the church where the
funeral was held, demonstrators pelted lines of police in riot gear
with rocks, bricks and other objects.
Seven officers were injured, including some with broken bones
and one who was unconscious, said Capt. Eric Kowalczyk, a spokesman
for the Baltimore Police Department. Demonstrators attacked one
patrol car and set fire to another, as others looted stores. Black
smoke billowed from a CVS pharmacy apparently set on fire by
looters.
Police responded with teargas and set up a cordon to try to
restore order. Chunks of bricks, rocks and broken glass littered
the streets, and smoke from burning cars and trash cans rose into
the sky. The Maryland Transit Administration closed several subway
stops near the unrest, and the night's Baltimore Orioles' baseball
game was canceled.
Maryland State Police troopers arrived on the scene Monday
evening, as well police from several counties, including Prince
Georges County, outside Washington. Gov. Larry Hogan said he had
put the Maryland National Guard on alert.
"Right now, our focus is on making sure that the people that
live in the community are safe," said Capt. Kowalczyk. He said it
was unclear if the outbreak was in direct response to the death of
Mr. Gray, who was arrested April 12 and suffered severe spinal
injuries while in police custody. He died April 19 after falling
into a coma.
Mr. Kowalczyk said the police would continue to use teargas and
"pepper balls" to respond to the dozens of demonstrators who stood
in the streets confronting the police.
Jerard Deal, a contractor doing renovations on a house near the
scene, said that around 3 p.m. he heard a commotion, stepped
outside the house and saw several hundred teens throwing rocks at
passing cars. "Anybody who came by was getting it--throwing rocks
at them, busting their windows," he said.
Mr. Deal said that when a police car arrived, it was immediately
attacked. "One bum threw a cinderblock through the back window, and
in front two guys were on top kicking the windshield," Mr. Deal
said.
Baltimore police said earlier Monday they received a "credible
threat" that city gangs would join together to "take down"
law-enforcement officers. It was also unclear if that alleged
threat was related to the unrest. Barricades were set up
surrounding police headquarters in downtown Baltimore.
It wasn't clear whether Monday's initial confrontations with
police were also fueled by students who planned to cause
disruptions that afternoon. The Baltimore Sun reported that a flier
circulated in the city said a "purge"--an anarchic protest based on
a film called "The Purge" about what would happen if all laws were
suspended--would begin at 3 p.m., starting at the Mondawmin Mall
and ending downtown.
Protests over Mr. Gray's death had been largely peaceful until
Saturday when pockets of violence led to 35 arrests and caused
minor injuries to six police officers. On Sunday, Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake and two dozen local religious leaders issued a "call
for peace."
The Rev. Jamal Bryant, the pastor at Empowerment Temple who also
gave the eulogy at Mr. Gray's funeral, decried the violence.
"This is not what Baltimore stands for," Rev. Bryant told
reporters. "It's disappointing. We're just hours out of the
funeral."
Write to Scott Calvert at scott.calvert@wsj.com and Kris Maher
at kris.maher@wsj.com
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