Freddie Gray died after an encounter with the Baltimore Police Department. The details of what happened are not yet clear, but that hasn’t stopped the black community from doing what they apparently now do best: rioting. Six officers have been suspended and an investigation is underway, but it didn’t matter. Within two days, the riots had begun. Waiting for the investigation to be completed or to find out what the facts of the case are? That won’t give anyone the excuse to destroy property or attack innocent people. And now, thanks to the actions of these animals, seven police officers have been injured, and one is unresponsive.

Seven Baltimore police officers were injured on Monday as rioters threw bricks and stones and burned patrol cars in violent protests after the funeral of a black man who died in police custody.

The riots broke out just a few blocks from the site of the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in northwest Baltimore and then spread through other parts of the city, after local law enforcement warned of a threat by gangs.

Television images showed looting and a mob of rioters jumping on the top of a police car, after teenaged crowds ignored calls to disperse and clashed with a line of hundreds of police.

… The rioting in Baltimore was the most violent since the demonstrations in Ferguson last year.

Baltimore Police Captain Eric Kowalczyk said at a police briefing that one of the injured police officers was unresponsive and several had broken bones.

Kowalczyk said police, who initially tried to use restraint, would begin making arrests and using tear gas and pepper pellets to break up crowds.

Baltimore has become a tinder box, about to explode at any moment. The Baltimore Police Department has taken to posting updates on their Facebook page, pleading with parents to bring their children home. That’s right — there are children participating in these riots.

Meanwhile, they were able to confirm that the injured officers have safely been evacuated. We can only pray that they will all recover.

The department’s Facebook page is a chilling testament to how vicious this mob is — looting businesses, attacking police, destroying property, setting police cars on fire. Even worse, police have received tips that they call “credible” saying that area gangs have teamed up to take out officers.

The terrifying anti-police rhetoric from last year, which was shown in this chilling video of protesters in New York City chanting for dead cops, did indeed lead to the deaths of two New York Police Department officers. Will the same thing end up happening in Baltimore?

There are also reports that St. Francis Hospital in Baltimore, where the injured officers were allegedly taken, is under lockdown with police forming a barricade for fear that the hospital itself will be targeted next.

This kind of violence, the lawlessness? It’s inexcusable. Just like with Mike Brown and Eric Garner before, this mob does not care what the facts of the case are. They do not care that the innocent people whose lives, properties, and businesses are being destroyed had nothing to do with this. They do not care if the police were justified in the situation or not. They saw an opportunity to riot, and they took it. It’s absolutely despicable, and the lives of the men and women in blue who put their lives on the line every single day to protect us are now in jeopardy.

But the question is, who is really responsible here? Obviously, the animals choosing to riot and who are attacking police officers are. But there’s someone else who bears some culpability: the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Like Bill de Blasio before her, Rawlings-Blake has encouraged the riots at the expense of police. Rawlings-Blacke took it a step further, though, admitting in a press conference that she ordered police to give the rioters, in her words, “space to destroy” (around 7:30).

Bill de Blasio had blood on his hands when he lost two of New York’s finest. Rawlings-Blake will as well if one of Baltimore’s finest is killed at the hands of this mob. She will bear responsibility here, for encouraging this violent and lawless behavior — and because of that, she should no longer have the privilege of holding the office of mayor. If she has any integrity at all, she’ll voluntarily step down, but realistically, that won’t happen. So if she won’t resign, then the city council should do the right thing and fire her. Someone who would side with thugs, gang members, and animals over the people who give their lives in service to their city has no business being the mayor.

UPDATES:

As of 7:12 pm Eastern, Governor Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to address the growing violence and unrest in Baltimore City. You can go to this link to read more.