Calls for more protest began circulating on social media early Monday morning as thousands of mourners bottlenecked into west Baltimore's New Shiloh Baptist Church to pay last respects to Gray, 25, who sustained a crushed voice box and severed spine in police custody during his April 12 arrest. A week later, Gray was dead. Now, after more than two weeks, the city has effectively been shut down, with curfews in place and officials bracing for more turmoil in the coming days.Early Tuesday, firefighters raced to extinguish blazes engulfing more than 144 cars and busses that had been set alight after sunset on Monday. At least 15 buildings were also torched, while numerous properties were vandalized and looters made off with armloads of goods, city officials said.Related: Riots in Baltimore: National Guard 'On the Ground' With City in State of EmergencyStudents and community unite to clean the street near new NAACP office in #FreddieGray's#Baltimore neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/nuZMRaqNMZ
— NAACP (@NAACP) April 28, 2015
At least 15 officers were hurt when protesters hurled fist-sized rocks, bricks, and bottles at trooper lines — six of them were "seriously" injured, police said. More than 200 people have been arrested, according to authorities.We are already seeing volunteers from across Baltimore joining together to clean up damage.
— Mayor Rawlings-Blake (@MayorSRB)April 28, 2015
The idea of the "purge," which was apparently egged on by a social media flyer, quickly caught on, spreading across Facebook, Twitter, and traditional media through Monday night and into Tuesday. Although it is still not clear how convincing other purported threats actually are, Security Square Mall in Baltimore's western suburbs shuttered in anticipation of more unrest.Some protest supporters have derided the use this week of words such as "purge," "thugs," and "outrageous criminals" by the city's mayor, police officials, and the media, saying the words have cast an all-too familiar image of the mostly African-American demonstrators in a predominantly-black city as lawless and delinquent. This, they have said, fails to address the years of systemic police brutality, poverty, and political disenfranchisement preceding anger that has only now reached a boiling point.Police van on fire as well as car on W North— Victoria Bekiempis (@vicbekiempis)April 27, 2015
Some residents condemned the riots, saying the violence has shifted focus from the peaceful calls for justice and transparency that underlie the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, which has sprung in recent months from the high-profile killings of several unarmed black Americans in police custody.Media trying to blame the — Mastermind (@MastermindLive)April 28, 2015
#BaltimoreUprising RT "@newsone Clergy marches peacefully amid State of Emergency in Baltimore http://t.co/ORAjt2RJ3Y pic.twitter.com/hXLqFvvckd
— Rap Tor (@Raptor2u) April 28, 2015
For now, the city remains in lockdown, with banks, stores, and schools remaining closed over safety concerns. Officials have also postponed baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox that was scheduled for Tuesday evening. Some children who did not go to school Tuesday helped their parents clean up broken glass strewn across neighborhoods where protesters have promised to once again converge before dusk.They are afraid of this. Bloods,Crips and the NOI together. #FreddieGray ? pic.twitter.com/xDJkdzVlC7
— BlaqBerriJuice (@mshotcoco) April 25, 2015
VICE News' Colleen Curry contributed to this report.Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifieldsYoung people (very young) helping with clean up efforts outside burned out Baltimore CVS.— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN)April 28, 2015