国际英语新闻:Police in Baltimore Enforcing Overnight Curfew

Rawlings-Blake, who called the rioting "one of the darkest days the city has ever faced," has declared a weeklong nighttime curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Public schools in the city of 620,000 people were closed Tuesday, as the city began to clean up after looters ransacked stores, pharmacies and a shopping mall and clashed with police.

Volunteers swept up charred debris in front of a CVS pharmacy as dozens of police officers in riot gear stood by and firefighters worked to damp down the embers.

At least 20 police officers have been injured as a result of violence in the city, according to Baltimore County Police Captain Eric Kowalczyk, who spoke at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.

He said there have been 144 vehicle fires, and one person is in critical condition due to a building fire that arsonists set during the rioting and looting.

Fifteen buildings, including a church-run senior center that was still under construction, and 144 vehicles were set on fire, and nearly 200 people were arrested, according to the city mayor's office Tuesday.

Protesters also threw rocks, bricks, bottles and other objects at riot police. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said 15 officers were injured in the clashes, including six who were hospitalized.

Gray's family called for the rioting to stop late Monday night. "And I'm as hurt but I do not want you all to be out here," said Gloria Darden, Gray's mother.  "I want you all to get justice for my son but don't do it like this here. Don't tear up the whole city, man. Just for him? It's wrong."

The attorney for Gray's family, Billy Murphy, said the family had hoped to organize a peace march later in the week.

State and local authorities pledged to restore order and calm, but quickly found themselves responding to questions about whether their initial responses had been adequate.

Rawlings-Blake was asked why she waited hours to ask the governor to declare a state of emergency, while the governor himself hinted she should have come to him earlier.

"We were all in the command center in the second floor of the State House in constant communication, and we were trying to get in touch with the mayor for quite some time," Hogan, the governor, said at a Monday evening news conference. “She finally made that call, and we immediately took action."

Guard spokesman Lieutenant Charles Kohler said about 2,000 guardsmen were being deployed though the day and that the force could build to 5,000.

Kohler said it was the first time the National Guard was called in to quell unrest in Baltimore since 1968, when some of the same neighborhoods were convulsed by violence after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Also, State Police said they were putting out a call for up to 500 additional law enforcement officers from Maryland and as many as 5,000 from around the mid-Atlantic region.

Latest incident of questionable police action

Gray suffered severe spinal cord injuries following his arrest on April 12.

Officials said he was not restrained properly while being transported in a police van. Police Commissioner Betts also said officers were slow to recognize that Gray, who apparently had asthma, needed medical attention. 

Six officers who had contact with Gray have been placed on paid administrative leave.

The rioting Monday was the worst such violence in the U.S. since the turbulent protests that broke out over the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer.

New attorney general condemns violence

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who was sworn in Monday just hours before the violence erupted, met with Obama at the White House to discuss the federal government's response to the unrest.

Lynch later issued a statement condemning what she called "the senseless acts of violence by some individuals in Baltimore." She promised to deploy the full resources of the Justice Department in "protecting those under threat, investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence."

The Justice Department and the FBI have a civil rights investigation into Gray's death. The Baltimore Police Department said more information on the case is expected Friday.

Baltimore is located about 60 kilometers, or 40 miles, northeast of Washington, D.C.