BALTIMORE, Md. — Protesters clashed with police on the city’s west side Tuesday night as anger over the death of 25-year-old black man Freddie Gray while in police custody again boiled into violence.
Though the unrest stopped well short of the rioting and arson that swept through some sections of the city on Monday, the situation remained tense as authorities sought to clear the streets and enforce the 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. curfew.
For most of the day, demonstrators had massed in front of a police barricade near the intersection of Pennsylvania and West North avenues, where crowds had looted and torched a CVS drugstore the day before. The protests were peaceful and even took on a festive character as demonstrators of all ages played drums and danced in an impromptu parade.
Demonstrators protesting the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray occupied the intersection of Pennsylvania and West North avenues Tuesday night. Photo by Matthew Schehl.
By nightfall however, the crowd near the barricade at Pennsylvania Avenue had thickened. But many on the scene vocally denounced violence and provocation. Pastors, church groups and representatives from the Nation of Islam pleaded with the crowd to remain peaceful.
A group of area residents even attempted to clear the intersection by forming a human chain between protesters and police in riot gear.
“It’s a tragedy to see the community being destroyed,” said David Morrison, one of those who helped link up the human chain.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake addressed the crowd multiple times via loudspeaker. As the 10 p.m. curfew neared, Rawlings-Blake implored protesters to return to their homes.
And while many heeded that call, others seemed emboldened by it.
A number of young men climbed atop the Penn/North Metro stop elevator holding signs and chanting “We don’t get tired.” Others wearing gas masks and bandanas rushed forward and gave the middle finger to police.
Shortly after 10, the police advanced to clear people from the intersection, prompting several protesters to throw bottles —some of them glass— at the police. In return, police set off smoke grenades and tear gas and were seen shooting pepper-spray projectiles. The crowd dispersed as police gradually moved through the intersection and also cleared side streets.
Police later dispatched vans, Humvees and helicopters to enforce the week-long curfew.
The late-night standoff was a departure from the scenes of calm and cooperation across Baltimore earlier Tuesday.
Baltimore police in full riot gear prepare to clear the intersection of Pennsylvania and West North avenues as the curfew approaches. Photo by Matthew Schehl.
Hundreds of Maryland National Guardsmen arrived to keep the peace in the city’s downtown and Inner Harbor neighborhoods. Soldiers carrying gas masks and assault rifles patrolled the quiet waterfront, where most businesses were closed early.
Crisis was also averted in the city’s northwestern suburbs. Rumors suggested that teenagers planned to target the Security Square Mall in Windsor Mill, Md., in a “purge,” apparently a reference to a 2013 dystopian film of the same name in which all crime is made legal for 24 hours.
Among those seeking to defuse the tension at the shopping center were self-described gang members who said they did not want to see their city suffer.
Gang member and rapper Orlando “Magik” Gilyard voiced his frustration with area youth, who he said had taken advantage of Gray’s death.
“I’d rather see us —BGF (Black Guerrilla Family), Bloods, Crips, blacks, whites— stop these kids from making the wrong decisions,” Gilyard said.
Gilyard and a number of his friends turned away one group of high schoolers who approached the shopping area.
“Stealing a pair of shoes, that’s not worth dying for,” said Christopher Johnson, another self-identified gang member. “This is not a movie, this is real life.”
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