The mayor of Baltimore said that people from outside of the city were behind the violence that marred a mostly peaceful protest on Saturday over the death of Freddie Gray.
"Last night we saw a small group of agitators turning what was otherwise a peaceful demonstration into violent disruptions," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference. "I will not let those individuals put their agendas ahead of our city's." Small groups of protesters broke off from the main group and threw bottles, metal barricades, and other objects at police officers and patrol cars, Reuters reports. Some also vandalized property downtown. Six officers sustained minor injuries, and 35 people were arrested, authorities said.
Gray died on April 19, a week after he suffered an unexplained spinal injury while in police custody. On Friday, the city's police commissioner said that officers did not get him medical attention quickly enough, but it is still not clear why Gray was arrested. Rawlings-Blake said she anticipates that an internal police investigation into Gray's arrest and death will be finished by the end of the week.
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