Baltimore city mayor calls out 'thugs' behind riots, calls on Al Sharpton for help

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gave an emotionally charged press conference on Monday night, calling the people looting the city "thugs" trying to tear the city apart.

"I am at a loss for words," she said. "It is idiotic to think that by destroying your city you're going to make life better for anybody."

The massive protests came the same day as the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died a week after sustaining mysterious injuries while in police custody.

Rawlings-Blake instituted a 10 p.m. curfew for the entire city. She said people who want peace should come to quell the unrest, mentioning Al Sharpton specifically.

The violence in Baltimore is "unprecedented," Darryl DeSousa, the chief of patrol, said at the same press conference.

DeSousa noted that 15 police officers have been injured with two still hospitalized. Most of the injuries were sustained from flying bricks and bottles, he said, adding that a number of school-age children were involved in the violence.

Baltimore City Council Member Brandon Scott likened the violence in Baltimore to massive civil unrest in 1968.

"I am simply pissed off," he said. "This is the city that I love ... We cannot let this be a repeat of 1968."