A store entrance is boarded up as a pedestrian walks through downtown, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared. People in Baltimore have been angry over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A woman walks past shuttered stores on North Avenue, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. Law enforcement presence in response to unrest has greatly diminished, as schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared. People in Baltimore have been angry over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Members of the National Guard patrol Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. A line of police behind riot shields hurled smoke grenades and fired pepper balls at dozens of protesters to enforce a citywide curfew. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Members of the National Guard pass through the area where Monday's riots occurred following the funeral for Freddie Gray, after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Protestors walk through smoke Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. A line of police behind riot shields hurled smoke grenades and fired pepper balls at dozens of protesters to enforce a citywide curfew. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Members of the National Guard pass through the area where Monday's riots occurred following the funeral for Freddie Gray, after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Members of the National Guard walk along North Avenue near where Monday's riots occurred following the funeral for Freddie Gray, after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
An Anne Arundel County policeman guards the intersection of North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared. People in Baltimore have been angry over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
A member of the National Guard gets out of a Humvee while posted outside City Hall, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared. People in Baltimore have been angry over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Broken store windows remain as members of the Anne Arundel County Police stand guard at the intersection of North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared. People in Baltimore have been angry over the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
BALTIMORE (AP) — Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared.
With 3,000 police and National Guardsmen keeping the peace and preventing a repeat of the looting and arson that erupted on Monday, the citywide, 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew ended with no reports of disturbances.
Baltimore's school system opened and after-school sports and other activities were set to resume. Monday's riots began when high schools let out for the day and students clashed with police near a major bus transfer point.
But life was unlikely to get completely back to normal anytime soon: The curfew was set to go back into effect at 10 p.m. And baseball officials — in what promised to be one of the weirdest spectacles in major-league history — announced that Wednesday's Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards would be closed to the public for safety reasons.
Activists stressed that they will continue to press for answers in the case of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man whose death from a spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances while in police custody set off the riots.
A few dozen protesters gathered outside the office of Baltimore's top prosecutor to demand swift justice. Organizers say they are rallying in support of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who took office in January and pledged during her campaign to address aggressive police practices.
Mosby's office is expected to get a report from police on Friday. She will then face a decision on whether and how to pursue charges against the six police officers who arrested Gray.
The curfew got off to a not-so-promising start Thursday night when about 200 protesters ignored warnings from police and pleas from pastors and other community activists to disperse. Some threw water bottles or lay down on the ground.
A line of officers behind riot shields hurled tear gas canisters and fired pepper balls at the crowd, which dispersed in a matter of minutes.
Just before midnight Tuesday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts declared the curfew a success.
"We do not have a lot of active movement throughout the city as a whole. ... Tonight I think the biggest thing is the citizens are safe, the city is stable," he said. "We hope to maintain it that way."
Batts said 10 people were arrested soon after the curfew went into effect: two for looting, one for disorderly conduct, and seven for violating the curfew.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," President Barack Obama said the riots show that police departments need to build more trust in black communities.
The president also said underlying problems such as poor education, drugs and limited job opportunities must be addressed.
Looting, fires and gunfire broke out overnight in Ferguson, Missouri, during protests triggered by Gray's death in Baltimore. Ferguson was rocked by violence last year over the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
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Associated Press writers Ben Nuckols, Juliet Linderman, Matthew Barakat, Tom Foreman Jr., Jessica Gresko, Brian Witte and Jeff Horwitz contributed to this report.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1zpKYZn
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