Students at Gilmor Elementary school peppered Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with questions Monday about Freddie Gray's death, including one that has gripped the city and the nation in the increasingly violent aftermath: Why?
Rawlings-Blake visited the school and its students, many of whom come from the Gilmor Homes public housing where Gray grew up, on her way to his funeral.
Gray, 25, died seven days after sustaining a severe spinal cord injury as police arrested him in the neighborhood across the street from the school. His death has placed the city at the epicenter of mass protests against police brutality.
"This has been challenging for our city and it has to be hard for you students," Rawlings-Blake told a group of fourth-graders Monday morning. "I wanted to stop by to let you know I'm thinking about you."
But as much as it was a wellness check, the mayor also attempted to answer questions for some of the youngest members of a community that has been thrust into the spotlight.
Many asked about Saturday's protest, which took a destructive turn after thousands marched peacefully from Gilmor Homes to City Hall.
Among the questions Rawlings-Blake fielded from the fourth-graders were: "Do those people come from our community?" "How can we be visible and have good behavior?" "Do they represent their race?" "What were they trying to get out of it?"
Rawlings-Blake struggled to explain to the young students why people felt the need to be destructive in the city in the name of justice.
"There are a lot of people who feel the best way to be heard, to be seen is to hold people like me accountable through peaceful protests," she told them. "I don't know what they think they'll get out of trashing their community."
Anthony Rowlette, 10, said he still had questions after Rawlings-Blake left.
"Is this going to keep happening? Or is it going to stop?" he asked. "Or is it just going to be violence every day."
By Monday afternoon, after they left school, the city had erupted into rioting.
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