Clashes erupt on streets of Baltimore

Police clashed with young people on the streets of Baltimore on Monday amid the funeral service for Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died while in police custody.

Young people converged with police near the Mondawmin Mall shopping center, according to The Baltimore Sun. Live footage on CNN showed police being hit with rocks, and the Sun reported they were also hit with bottles.

Capt. Eric Kowalczyk, a police spokesman, said seven officers have been injured in the clashes.

CNN footage also showed individuals destroying a police car, while it appeared other vehicles had been lit on fire. The footage also appeared to show the looting of a CVS pharmacy.

According to multiple reports, the CVS was on fire, with the fire department attempting to put out the blaze. Live footage on CNN appeared to show someone using what appeared to be a knife cutting one of the fire hoses.

At around 7 p.m., Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced he had declared a state of emergency and activated the Maryland National Guard to respond to the unrest.

“There is a significant difference between protesting and violence and those committing these acts will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law,” Hogan said in a statement earlier Monday.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the men and women in uniform who are actively working to stem this violence and several who been injured in the line of duty.”

Some of the projectiles that were thrown at Baltimore Police pic.twitter.com/Z2HJr7EZKq

— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) April 27, 2015

Kowalczyk said around 5:20 p.m. on CNN that the department had “already deployed gas” to try and control the crowds.

Officers were wearing riot gear — including face masks and shields — and were accompanied by at least one tactical vehicle, according to footage broadcast on CNN.

Baltimore’s police spokesman said that at least seven officers had been injured, including one officer who is currently “unresponsive.”

Officer is down. Badly injured. pic.twitter.com/5lCOTJMS2a

— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) April 27, 2015

Protests have been taking place in Baltimore since the death of Gray, who suffered from an injured spinal cord when he was arrested on April 12.

Gray died a week after he was arrested. Police said in a report of the arrest that Gray was taken into custody “without force or incident.” He was buried on Monday.

The protests and clashes with police have heightened tensions in Baltimore.

On Monday, Baltimore police said that there was a “credible threat” to law enforcement because they said three gangs had “entered into a partnership to ‘take-out’ law enforcement officers.”

Police van on fire as well as car on W North #Baltimore #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/SYuurFzUbG

— Victoria Bekiempis (@vicbekiempis) April 27, 2015

Former Maryland Gov. and potential 2016 Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley released the following statement Monday evening:

I’m saddened that the City I love is in such pain this night. All of us share a profound feeling of grief for Freddie Gray and his family. We must come together as one City to transform this moment of loss and pain into a safer and more just future for all of Baltimore’s people.

—This story was last updated at 7:40 p.m.