The extent of unrest can be gauged from the fact that over 1,000 Maryland police officers, the Maryland National Guard, and 5,000 officers from neighboring states have been put on standby in the city. President Obama has been briefed on the situation as violence continues to escalate.
In the opinion of observers, it is the same level of reinforcement the city had requested during the riots of 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Initially, the disturbance had been labeled as anti-police protests to avenge the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody on April 12 but, in no time, it took the shape of uncontrolled riots. Many police officers have been injured and at least 27 people have been arrested.
Moreover, a $16 million nursing home built by a Baptist church, which was due to open in December after eight years of construction, has been burned to rubble on the city's east side as the violence spread.
The protesters looted gun stores, check cashing stores, liquor stores and supermarkets and the mob clad in Balaclava were seen to be ripping off the doors of one rifle shop and passing weapons from the shop to people on the streets. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has branded the rioters as 'senseless thugs' and has announced a week-long 10pm-5am curfew for all citizens with immediate effect.
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