motherjones | Meg Gibson, another Baltimore teacher, described a similar scene to Gawker:
"The riot police were already at the bus stop on the other side of the
mall, turning buses that transport the students away, not allowing
students to board. They were waiting for the kids.…Those kids were set
up, they were treated like criminals before the first brick was thrown."
With police unloading busses, and with the nearby metro station shut
down, there were few ways for students to clear out.
Several eyewitnesses in the area that afternoon say that police
seemed to arrive at Mondawmin anticipating mobs and violence—prior to
any looting. At 3:01 p.m., the Baltimore Police Department posted on its
Facebook page: "There is a group of juveniles in the area of Mondawmin
Mall. Expect traffic delays in the area." But many of the kids,
according to eyewitnesses, were stuck there because of police actions.
The Baltimore Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Around 3:30, the police reported that juveniles had begun to throw
bottles and bricks. Fifteen minutes later, the police department noted
that one of its officers had been injured. After that the violence
escalated, and rioters started looting the Mondawmin Mall, and Baltimore
was in for a long night of trouble and violence. But as the event is
reviewed and investigated, an important question warrants attention:
What might have happened had the police not prevented students from
leaving the area?
Did the department's own actions increase the chances
of conflict?
As Meghann Harris put it, "if I were a Douglas student that just got
trapped in the middle of a minefield BY cops without any way to get home
and completely in harm's way, I'd be ready to pop off, too."
On social media, eyewitnesses chronicled the dramatic police presence before the rioting began:
On Twitter, Baltimore residents vented their frustration with the situation.
