Video of chaotic protests in Baltimore flooded social media on Monday night, offering an on-the-ground glimpse at the riots engulfing city streets following the funeral of a 25-year-old black man killed in police custody.
Rioters clashed with police, injuring a dozen officers, and prompting Maryland’s governor to declare a “state of emergency.” Over 200 were arrested, and over one hundred vehicles were set on fire or destroyed. Some of the most dramatic scenes were captured by local citizens on their cellphones, whose videos were widely shared over Instagram as the riots progressed.
Violence broke out several hours after Freddie Gray’s funeral ended on Monday at 1:45 p.m. Initial gatherings were peaceful.
As the day wore on, footage of increasingly chaotic protests were circulating on Instagram. By 4 p.m. police reported clashes at a large gathering outside of a mall in northwest Baltimore and tense standoffs in other parts of the city.
Reports of looting and blazes filtered in throughout the afternoon, with the first major fire at Federal Street breaking out at 6 p.m, CNN reports.
Gray’s family expressed outrage as the violence unfolded into the evening. “They don’t want this movement nationally to be marred by violence,” said Gray’s family attorney, NBC News reports.
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