Baltimore firefighters battle a three-alarm fire Monday, April 27, 2015, at a senior living facility under construction at Federal and Chester Streets in East Baltimore. It was unclear whether is was related to the ongoing riots but was one of several fires in the area. THE BALTIMORE SUN VIA AP JERRY JACKSON
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.
Continue reading »
