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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEyewitnesses: The Baltimore Riots Didn't Start the Way You Think
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/how-baltimore-riots-began-mondawmin-purgeThe funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody this month, had ended hours earlier at a nearby church. According to the Baltimore Sun, a call to "purge"a reference to the 2013 dystopian film in which all crime is made legal for one nightcirculated on social media among school-aged Baltimoreans that morning. The rumored planwhich was not traced to any specific person or groupwas to assemble at the Mondawmin Mall at 3:00 p.m. and proceed down Pennsylvania Avenue toward downtown Baltimore. The Baltimore police department, which was aware of the "purge" call, prepared for the worst. Shortly before noon, the department issued a statement saying it had "received credible information that members of various gangs have entered into a partnership to 'take-out' law enforcement officers."
When school let out that afternoon, police were in the area equipped with full riot gear. According to eyewitnesses in the Mondawmin neighborhood, the police were stopping busses and forcing riders, including many students who were trying to get home, to disembark. Cops shut down the local subway stop. They also blockaded roads near the Mondawmin Mall and Frederick Douglass High School, which is across the street from the mall, and essentially corralled young people in the area. That is, they did not allow the after-school crowd to disperse.
Meghann Harris, a teacher at a nearby school, described on Facebook what happened:
Police were forcing busses to stop and unload all their passengers. Then, [Frederick Douglass High School] students, in huge herds, were trying to leave on various busses but couldn't catch any because they were all shut down. No kids were yet around except about 20, who looked like they were waiting for police to do something. The cops, on the other hand, were in full riot gear, marching toward any small social clique of students It looked as if there were hundreds of cops.
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Eyewitnesses: The Baltimore Riots Didn't Start the Way You Think (Original Post)
RockaFowler
Apr 2015
OP
underpants
(182,950 posts)1. Baltimore doesn't have a subway that I know about
They do have electric rail cars
Just sayin. Going to read article now.
salin
(48,955 posts)3. I think they mean the sandwich shop Subway ... (nevermind)
Proof I need my reading glasses. It clearly is talking about a subway.
Interesting read.
eomer
(3,845 posts)4. Metro Subway
underpants
(182,950 posts)11. My mistake. Thanks. n/t
eomer
(3,845 posts)15. You're welcome. Thanks for being nice about it, hope I was too. n/t
underpants
(182,950 posts)16. The MTA site says routes are closed due to "police activities"
onenote
(42,782 posts)6. Apparently the fact you don't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondawmin_(Baltimore_Metro_Subway_station)
Apparently the fact that you didnt recognize that I qualified it bothers you too much.
Calista241
(5,586 posts)13. This in as Internet forum, and apparently the rule is...
If you're not being an asshole, you're not doing it right.
underpants
(182,950 posts)14. :-)
thank you
underpants
(182,950 posts)2. Great read.
Rec'd
JustAnotherGen
(31,937 posts)5. Kicking it up
I will post a reference in the AA Group on this - it's too important to drop like a stone.
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)7. Cops started it, no surprise there
bravenak
(34,648 posts)8. I saw this yesterday and thought it was very important.
Cops are trpained to start shit. That's how they keep the crime rate up to justify their presence and pay.
Agreed
brush
(53,924 posts)12. Thanks for posting this — cops had a big part in starting the whole thing. nt
sheshe2
(83,955 posts)17. Cops sure love to stir the pot.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)18. Recommend. n/t