BALTIMORE — Violent rioters looted stores, set fires to cars and buildings and clashed with police, who failed to maintain control of the streets after the funeral of Freddie Gray Monday.
Daily Caller reporters and cameras captured the violence, which started Monday afternoon. While reporting on the police clashes and looting, Daily Caller News Foundation reporters Connor Wolf and Casey Harper were brutally assaulted in an unprovoked attack by at least six individuals. Wolf sustained a broken nose and Harper suffered a broken cheekbone, a concussion and a black eye. His phone was also stolen.
But earlier in the day, when we had first arrived, the city resembled more of a ghost town than a fiery riot — or a major metropolis.
Schools let out early and streets lay empty Monday afternoon. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Public transit was cancelled. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
TheDC witnessed looting first-hand. Police officers made no attempt to stop the thugs, as they attacked parts of West Baltimore in broad daylight. (INSIDE THE RIOTS: Violence, Fire And Robbery As Crooks Attack Reporters)
Looters attack while the sun is still up Monday afternoon. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
And as evening fell, a nervous police force knew it would only get worse. Credible reports cited gangland plans to call a cease fire and aim their illegal handguns at the cops.
Riot police prepare, as the sun goes down Monday evening. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Riot police prepare, as the sun goes down Monday evening. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Throughout the evening, the police scanner was full of urgent requests for limited mobile resources. And as the night would go on, armored vehicles, squad cars and even ambulances were attacked by mobs of criminals.
Armored mobile units roll into place Monday evening. (Photo: Grae Stafford / The Daily Caller)
As night fell, raging mobs set fire to multiple buildings. (WATCH: Rioting Punk Taken Down By Baltimore Police)
Firefighters battle the blaze. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Fire amid the rubble. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Firefighters had difficulty keeping up with the speed of the arsonists. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
In certain areas, the smoke grew so thick that police had to withdraw to their cars.
Thick smoke rises over Baltimore. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
As the night progressed, protesters grew more confident, openly challenging police authority.
Two cars were set ablaze on Fulton Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, and police and fire trucks were bombarded with bottles of liquor and rocks as they attempted to put out the fires.
Flames engulf vehicles. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Flames engulf vehicles. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Trash and debris litters the streets as fires rage. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
This reporter saw at least three businesses looted completely, and one torched.
Men run amid the rubble. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Not all participants rioted. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Masked looters in the chaos. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
(Photo: Grae Stafford / The Daily Caller)
Rioters also began playing a dangerous game of “chicken” with police, driving toward ranks of armored cops and swerving to a stop at the very last second.
Masked crooks roam the street. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
One masked kid points toward the chaos. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
After the Baltimore Fire Department put out the fires, the crowd surged back into the buildings they had torched and proceeded to ransack whatever they could lay their hands on.
An unauthorized beer run. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Destruction in the streets. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)
Lines of police. (Grae Stafford/The Daily Caller)