Dozens of people defied a city-wide curfew enacted in Baltimore on Tuesday, throwing bottles and other objects at a line of police officers who met their aggression with pepper balls, tear gas and rubber bullets.
Despite the tension, the scene near the intersections of Pennsylvania and North Avenues was significantly calmer compared to a day earlier when hundreds of juveniles injured police officers with flying projectiles and vandalized, looted and torched cars and local businesses.
Shortly after the curfew began, some protesters began throwing water bottles and fireworks toward a line of officers donned in riot gear. The officers slowly advanced on the crowd, firing pepper bombs and tear gas in an effort to disperse a small number of agitated protesters who remained. Within an hour, officers gained control of the intersection where reporters and photographers outnumbered protesters.
At a press briefing Tuesday evening, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts praised the effectiveness of the curfew, noting that just 10 arrests for looting and disorderly conduct had been made by officers who met curfew violators with significant restraint.
“Citizens are safe; the city is stable,” Batts said.
Read more: Clergy, Gang Members Plea for End to Baltimore Violence
It was anything but calm hundreds of miles away where a solidarity protest held in Ferguson, Mo., ended in gunfire.
Demonstrators hurling rocks prompted police to close off a main street in the St. Louis suburb that was rocked by violence last August following the shooting death of unarmed black man Michael Brown Jr. by white police officer Darren Wilson.
Police were dispatched to at least three different reports of shots fired near West Florissant and Canfield Drive. The location is near the scene of the August shooting and has become a gathering spot for protesters in the months since.
The first call of shots fired was reported around 10:30 p.m. local time. A newspaper photographer and several other bystanders carried an injured man to a nearby restaurant, where he received medical treatment for a gunshot wound to the leg. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police had taken a suspect into custody.
Within the hour, police were dispatched to at least two other shootings along the same stretch of road. At least two individuals were shot in those incidents — one in the neck, another in the stomach — according to police dispatches and eyewitness reports posted on Twitter. Eyewitnesses said the gunshots appeared to be coming from someone inside a truck who was firing in the direction of protesters.
Read more: TheBlot Magazine’s Continuing Ferguson Coverage
It was unclear if police had identified suspects or taken anyone into custody in connection with the later shootings.
More gunshots. pic.twitter.com/qpqmVatFM5
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) April 29, 2015
The Ferguson protest was one of several held across the country in solidarity with Baltimore, where community members have called for a reform to policing the city following the death of a 25-year-old man who was taken into custody April 12.
Freddie Gray, 25, died one week after his arrest for possession of a switchblade. His death was attributed to a spinal cord injury that was sustained at some point during his time in police custody.
Eyewitness video shows a visibly distraught Gray begging officer for medical attention during his arrest. Police initially disputed assertions that officers had used force against Gray, but later acknowledged errors had been made in how officers handled the man during his arrest.
Those errors, police said, included not seeking medical attention when Gray asked and failing to buckle him into a transport van using a seat belt after his arrest. Police are continuing to investigate his death.
Matthew Keys is a contributing journalist for TheBlot Magazine.
