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[h=4]Baltimore awakens to devastation[/h]The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency Monday after the streets of Baltimore erupted in violence after the funeral for an African-American man who died of injuries he sustained while in police custody.
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As the sun came up in Baltimore Tuesday morning, the damage left behind by violent riots could be clearly seen. Buildings were burned and stores were destroyed. Protests started over the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody. VPC
Jerald Miller helps clean up debris Tuesday from a CVS pharmacy that was set on fire during rioting after the funeral of Freddie Gray.(Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images)
BALTIMORE -- Residents and city workers cranked up a massive cleanup operation Tuesday, hours after a night of anger and violence left a wide swath of the city in ruins.
Schools were closed, streets were quiet but wreckage was everywhere as a solemn Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake toured the destruction.
"We are already seeing volunteers from across Baltimore joining together to clean up damage," Rawlings-Blake wrote in a Tweet. "We will not let these deplorable and cowardly acts of violence ruin our city."
Just hours after Freddie Gray was laid to rest Monday, protests ostensibly against police violence quickly deteriorated into devastating riots. Roving bands of mostly young looters, some armed with crowbars, roamed the city, hurling rocks at police, destroying patrol cars, smashing store windows and torching buildings.
On Tuesday, residents swept glass and debris from battered sidewalks and streets while National Guard members stood sentry.
"I wanted to talk to the people who are desperate for better in Baltimore," Rawlings-Blake said outside a severely damaged CVS store. "What happened last night made sure more people have needs and more people are struggling."
Rawlings-Blake, who called the rioters "thugs," dismissed claims that she waited too long to send in a heavy police and National Guard presence. She cited a "delicate balancing act" between managing the problem and making it worse.
"It is very important that we respond to the situation as it is on the ground," she said. "There are always going to be armchair quarterbacks who have never sat in my seat."
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Residents of Baltimore are dealing with the damage left behind by rioters who looted stores and set buildings on fire after Freddie Gray was laid to rest. Gray suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. VPC
Almost 200 arrests were made and more than a dozen police officers were injured, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said, adding that he believed tensions were easing. Still, authorities ordered 10 p.m. curfews for the rest of the week.
About 20 businesses and 144 cars burned.
Many businesses, wary of a resurgence of violence that had overwhelmed police and fire fighters, closed on Tuesday.
The list included Security Square Mall with more than 100 stores in western Baltimore. And the normally bustling downtown was almost deserted as many offices closed for the day.
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Jamal Bryant, a local activist and pastor of Empowerment Temple, announced that he would open his church for teens with no place to go due to the school closures. He promised to conduct training on how to protest without destroying the city.
Bryant tweeted: "We're also gonna take HS students to go clean up OUR neighborhoods. We must rise from the ashes. Meet at @EmpowermentTem2 at 10"
Batts said it appeared that a number of gangs met and decided that each group would "take out a police officer" after Monday's funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died April 19 after suffering a severe spine injury in police custody.
Social media was alive with "#purge" before and during the mayhem, an apparent allusion to the film The Purge, which featured a 12-hour period in which any crime was legal.
Batts implored parents to take control of their children who might be taking part in the rioting. He said some of the 15 buildings that burned took great effort to erect in ailing communities that need them.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in the city and activated the National Guard to assist city and state police. Up to 5,000 guard members could be called; Hogan said another 5,000 officers from neighboring police departments were being pressed into service.
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The Baltimore Orioles postponed a scheduled Monday night game with the Chicago White Sox. The violence was taking place less than three miles from the Camden Yards baseball stadium that is home to the Orioles.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch dispatched the Justice Department's civil rights chief and director of the agency's community policing office to Baltimor. She condemned "senseless acts of violence.''
"In the days ahead, I intend to work with leaders throughout Baltimore to ensure that we can protect the security and civil rights of all residents,'' Lynch said late Monday. "And I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear in protecting those under threat, investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence.''
Contributing: Melanie Eversley
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