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.<\/p>\n
The riots broke out blocks from where the funeral of Freddie Gray took place and spread through much of west Baltimore.<\/p>\n
It was the most violent protest against police treatment of African Americans since arson and gunfire in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.<\/p>\n
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 Tuesday night, with exceptions for work and medical emergencies.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“All this had to happen, people getting tired of the police killing the young black guys for no reason. … It is a sad day but it had to happen,” said Tony Luster, 40, who was out on the street watching the police line.<\/p>\n
Gray was arrested on April 12 when running from officers. He was transported to the police station in a van, with no seat restraint, and suffered the spinal injury that led to his death a week later. A lawyer for Gray’s family says his spine was 80 percent severed at the neck while in custody.<\/p>\n
Six officers have been suspended, and the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the incident for possible civil rights violations.
\nReuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america"],"yoast_head":"\n