Following riots and looting in Baltimore last night, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has promised a continually growing police presence ensuring tonight is not a repeat of the events yesterday.
The Baltimore Mayor’s office announced this morning a total of 144 vehicle fires, 15 structure fires and nearly 200 arrests throughout the city last night. While there has been no reports of violence or rioting today, Hogan has promised there would not be a repeat of last night this evening. A curfew is in effect at 10 p.m.
“The city is safer than it was before, and we’re going to continue to build that presence all day,” Hogan said.
President Obama spoke out against the violence earlier today and said there is no excuse for the violence in Baltimore, suggesting looters are not protesting and should be treated as criminals.
Rev. Jesse Jackson visited the city earlier today, deploring the destruction, but offered alienation from unemployment as a reason for the unrest.
“It was painful because it destroyed a lot of neighborhood businesses and hurt a lot of people, but the violence is driven by that alienation,” Jackson said.
His visit was met with peaceful demonstrations, with dozen of people gathering in the street, with police keeping watch nearby. Meanwhile cleanup of affected areas has begun, with hundreds of volunteers working to clean streets and buildings that had been affected by last night’s riots.
1:30 p.m. The Rev. Jesse Jackson has visited a burned-out drug store in Baltimore as crowds gather in the streets a night after riots. Jackson said the violence, while inexcusable, reflected the alienation of unemployed people in neighborhoods full of empty homes and vacant lots. “It was painful because it destroyed a lot of neighborhood businesses and hurt a lot of people, but the violence is driven by that alienation,” Jackson said. Dozens of people have gathered again in the street, dancing and clapping at time. A line of police officers shoulder-to-shoulder stood watch nearby. The demonstrations have been going on since Gray was arrested in the neighborhood and died after suffering injuries in police custody. ___ 12:55 p.m. President Barack Obama says there have been too many troubling police interactions with black citizens. Obama is calling the deaths of several black men by police “a slow rolling crisis.” He says it’s not new, but there’s new awareness from cameras and social media. The president says there’s “no excuse” for violence in Baltimore. Obama says looters are not protesting but stealing. He says they should be treated as criminals. Obama spoke Tuesday at a White House press conference with the Japanese prime minister as the National Guard was called in to quell violence. Rioting broke out Monday after the funeral for Freddie Gray, a black man who died in police custody under mysterious circumstances. ___ 12:15 p.m. The Maryland governor is promising that Baltimore will not have a repeat of the riots that happened on Monday. Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference Tuesday that there had been no incidents in the morning, but he does worry about what will happen at night. Hogan declared a state of emergency about three hours after the riots started Monday afternoon. He has activated the National Guard, which is helping police keep the peace in the city. The riots came after the death of Freddie Gray. He died after he was injured in police custody. ___ 12 p.m. Hundreds of volunteers are cleaning up the wreckage left by rioters in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested. Part of the area was blocked off by officers to help with debris removal. Area hardware stores donated trash bags and brooms, and city workers brought in trucks to haul away mounds of trash and broken glass. With schools closed, Blanca Tapahuasco, 43, brought her three sons from another part of the city to help sweep outside a looted CVS pharmacy. “We’re helping the neighborhood build back up,” she said. “This is an encouragement to them to know the rest of the city is not just looking on and wondering what to do.” The riots began shortly after Freddie Gray’s funeral. Gray died after being injured in police custody. ___ 11:40 a.m. Police say a mall in suburban Baltimore has closed after rumors spread on social media about plans for trouble there and at other locations. County police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter says Security Square Mall decided to close Tuesday, but it was not at the direction of police. The mall is near the Social Security Administration’s headquarters and just a few miles west of the city. The riots started Monday at a mall near downtown Baltimore, on the same day as Freddie Gray’s funeral. Gray died after suffering injuries while in police custody. ___ The Baltimore Orioles postponed a second straight game against the Chicago White Sox after a night of rioting near Camden Yards. The team says it made the decision Tuesday after consulting with Major League Baseball, and state and local officials. A makeup date was not announced. Public schools were shut down Tuesday, and Baltimore’s mayor imposed a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew. Monday’s game was postponed after riots that followed the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died April 19 of spinal cord and other injuries sustained while in police custody. ___ 11:15 a.m. A woman who hit and pushed a boy to remove him from the riots in Baltimore is being hailed by the police commissioner and others online. Video of the woman, presumably the boy’s mother, shows her smacking him on the head as other youths throw bricks, rocks and other objects at police near a mall Monday afternoon. “I wish I had more parents that took charge of their kids out there,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said of the video. The woman has not been identified. Police asked parents in a series of tweets to get their children inside after groups of youths became violent. The riots started hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. He suffered a critical injury while in police custody. ___ Standing in front of a burned-out CVS pharmacy, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake deplored the violence of the night before. “We worked so hard to get a company like CVS to invest in this neighborhood,” she said, describing the neighborhood as still recovering from the riots of the 1960’s. “This is the only place that so many people have to pick up their prescriptions.” Rawlings-Blake said that the city had prepared for the possibility of disturbances after Freddie Gray’s funeral Monday, but had been overwhelmed. Questioned about whether she should have been in the neighborhood before Tuesday morning, she responded with frustration. “You can’t see everything that I see. You don’t know all the different moving pieces,” she said. Gray died after being injured while in police custody. ___ 10:20 a.m. A spokesman says Monday’s riot is the first time the Maryland National Guard has been called up for a civil disturbance in the state since 1968, when Baltimore erupted in violence after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Guard spokesman Lt. Charles Kohler says about 500 guardsmen are being deployed in Baltimore on Tuesday, and the force will build to about 2,000 though the day. He says that can build to 5,000, and officials also could call on Guard forces in neighboring states. Riots broke out in the city hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. Guardsmen are called up about once a year for a state of emergency such as a large snow storm or hurricane. That usually involves about 600 members — though about 2,000 were called up for President Barack Obama’s inauguration. In 1968, the state called up 6,000 Guardsmen, and 2,000 federal troops were called in to help too. ___ 9 a.m. On Tuesday morning, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan surveyed the scene at a West Baltimore intersection that hours earlier had been littered with burning cars, a smashed police vehicle, broken glass and thick plumes of smoke billowing from a looted convenience store. Hogan shook the hands of people who had shown up early to help sweep the streets after rioting erupted in the city Monday, hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. He said: “We’re not going to leave the city unprotected.” He added that he’s called in hundreds of state troopers and potentially thousands of National Guardsmen to help secure the city after a night of riots. Hogan said: “The city is safer than it was before, and we’re going to continue to build that presence all day.” ___ 8:25 a.m. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is temporarily moving his office from the state capital, Annapolis, to Baltimore on Tuesday after rioting and fires broke out in the city. Hogan spokeswoman Erin Montgomery says the governor will visit sites around the city Tuesday morning and plans to work out of state offices in downtown Baltimore with Cabinet members and senior staffers. Rioting erupted in the city Monday, hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. ___ 8 a.m. The Maryland Transit Administration says it’s bypassing several subway stations and closing at least one bus station because of police activity in areas of Baltimore. Rioting erupted around the city Monday, hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. National Guard troops took up positions in the city, and cleanup was beginning early Tuesday morning. The transit agency announced its changes in service Tuesday morning. Public schools in the city are closed for the day, and several neighboring districts said they would cancel any scheduled field trips to Baltimore. A citywide curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. ___ 7:35 a.m. The Baltimore mayor’s office says there were 144 vehicle fires, 15 structures fires and nearly 200 arrests in the unrest that broke out in the city. Spokesman Howard Libit gave the updated numbers Tuesday morning. Rioting erupted around the city Monday, hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. Early Tuesday morning, aerial footage on local station WJZ-TV showed a firefighter spraying the burnt out shell of a large building as an American flag fluttered nearby on an untouched building. ___ 6:00 a.m. Local television footage showed firefighters on the scene of one many fires that broke out overnight and residents sweeping up debris on city streets as dawn broke Tuesday in Baltimore. Transport vehicles of Maryland National Guard troops arrived a day after a funeral for Freddie Gray, who died of a mysterious spinal injury while he was in police custody. In the hours after the service attended by thousands, rioting and looting broke out in the city and firefighters battled blazes overnight thought to be linked to the riots. National Guard spokesman Col. Charles Kohler says guard members are hooking up with police and providing additional security at critical infrastructure. Kohler declined say how many were arriving Tuesday, but says the guard can build to a force of 5,000. ___ 11:58 p.m. Fredericka Gray, the twin sister of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal injury while in police custody, has deplored the violence. “I think the violence is wrong … I don’t like it all,” she said late Monday, adding she thought her brother also would have disapproved. Rioting erupted around the city hours after the funeral for Freddie Gray. He died of a mysterious spinal injury days after being taken into custody. Latest updates from the Associated Press