Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake lifted the citywide curfew on Sunday after a week full of tension and riots that stemmed from the death of local resident Freddie Gray at the hands of police.

As the National Guard started to disperse from the streets, business shops began to open and people are slowly trying to restore their routines. Rawlings-Blake said she believes they have reached the point where they do not need to extend the Baltimore curfew anymore, the Washington Post relayed.

Like Us on Facebook

Gov. Larry Hogan, speaking in congruence with Rawlings-Blake's view, also declared Baltimore as safe and announced that the 3,000 National Guard troops had already started to withdraw from the city on Sunday. However, a thousand police troops from Maryland and nearby states had joined the Baltimore police force last week to deal with the unrest and it would take them a few more days for all of them to clear the city.

Rawlings-Blake implemented the curfew on Tuesday in a bid to curb the violence that erupted on Monday during Freddie Gray's funeral. The 25-year-old black suspect died of a severe spinal injury after he was arrested by police, the report detailed.

Last Friday, Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby filed charges against the six officers involved in Gray's arrest. The officers' camp, however, denied any responsibility for Freddie Gray's controversial death.

On Sunday, peace and prayer reigned over Baltimore as people gathered at the City Hall to participate in a prayer rally. Mayor Rawlings-Blake, who spoke outside the Mondawmin Mall where a lot of looting and violence occurred on Monday, vowed to help bring the city through this obstacle.

"We will get better and we will get through this," Rawlings-Blake said. "A lot of the unrest has been settled, but that doesn't mean the work doesn't continue."

Still, Baltimore residents remain on their toes because they know that normalcy would not immediately return to their city. They fear that last week's unrest would be repeated after the verdict in the officers' trial would be released.

Authorities had apprehended 486 individuals as of Sunday in connection with the week-long violence and for defying the curfew in Baltimore, Capt. J. Eric Kowalczyk stated. During that week, 113 officers also sustained injuries in the riots, he added.

Despite Rawlings-Blake's lifting of the citywide curfew, police officers will still be visible in the streets in the next few days to monitor the surroundings. Still, Kowalczyk asked the residents to help keep the environment peaceful.

Hogan said over 200 business establishments were destroyed in the Baltimore riots on Monday. The city still has a long way to go in terms of recovery, the report said.

TagsBaltimore, Baltimore mayor, Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore riots, Freddie Gray