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Baltimore: National Guard Arrives To Help Halt Looting

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 02:57 PST, Apr 28, 2015

National Guard troops have arrived in Baltimore, hundreds more are anticipated to arrive throughout the day and evening in response to the Baltimore Purge, violence and looting. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency on Monday evening several hours after the Baltimore riots began.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake mandated a citywide curfew slated to begin tonight. The Baltimore City Hall and Baltimore Police Department headquarters are located about one mile away from the western district where the riots raged on Monday evening.

Governor Larry Hogan shared his thoughts on the arrival of the National Guard and the Baltimore riots and what is now being done to prevent a replay of the looting and violence.

“Today, we’re dealing with stopping the violence and protecting the people. Our plan is to bring enough people in here to make sure the fires don’t get started again. The city has asked us to take over. Currently, state police Superintendent Bill Pallozzi is in charge and will be in direct communication with the city, the mayor, with the city police and General Singh will be providing backup assistance to the state police. We’ll be coordinating with police from other counties around the state and from police that we get from other states around the region.”

In addition to the National Guard troops converging upon the city of Baltimore, additional police officers and firefighters from around the state have also been called in to prevent another night of property destruction and violence. The peaceful protests turned criminal just a few hours after the Freddie Gray funeral.

National Guard spokesman, Col. Charles Kohler, told the media that his troops will coordinate with the Baltimore police and offer added security for “critical infrastructure.” Although Kohler declined to reveal exactly how many National Guard troops have already arrived in Baltimore, he did note that the guard is capable of increasing to a force of 5,000 armed soldiers.

The Baltimore riots and Baltimore Purge damage statistics offered from the office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake indicate how massive the loss to both the public and businesses became in just a few short hours.

  • 15 officers hurt, 6 hospitalized
  • 144 vehicle fires
  • 15 structure fires
  • Almost 200 arrests of Baltimore rioters and looters.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. William Pallozzi told the press that state police will coordinate with the Baltimore Police Department to cover specific sectors in the city to help protect the area.

[Image via: Mark Makela/Getty Images]

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