UPDATE | Riot erupts after funeral for man hurt in police custody

BALTIMORE (AP) — Rioters looted stores and hurled rocks and bricks at Baltimore police Monday, injuring several officers just hours after thousands mourned the man who died after suffering a severe spinal injury in police custody.

Seven officers were hurt. Some had broken bones, and one was unresponsive, said Capt. Eric Kowalczyk. Television footage showed a police cruiser in flames and a CVS drug store being overrun. Officers using shields and wearing helmets used pepper-spray in an effort to keep the rioters back.

A helicopter circled overhead as groups of rioters moved through the city. One group piled onto and rode a car as it drove down the street.

Monday’s riot was the latest flare-up over the mysterious death of Freddie Gray, whose fatal encounter with officers came amid the national debate over police use of force, especially when black suspects are involved. Gray was African-American.

Police urged parents to locate their children and bring them home. Many of those on the streets appeared to be African-American youths, wearing backpacks and khaki pants that are a part of many public school uniforms.

The riot broke out just as high school let out, and at a key city bus depot for student commuters.

Many who had never met Gray gathered earlier in the day in a Baltimore church to bid him farewell and press for more accountability among law enforcement.

Early in the service, the attorney representing Gray’s family, Billy Murphy, received a standing ovation after calling on the six officers who arrested him to tell the public what happened.

“This is our moment to get at truth. This is our moment to get it right,” Murphy said.

The 2,500-capacity New Shiloh Baptist church was filled with mourners. But even the funeral could not ease mounting tensions.

Police said in a news release sent while the funeral was underway that the department had received a “credible threat” that three notoriously violent gangs are now working together to “take out” law enforcement officers.

A small group of mourners started lining up about two hours ahead of Monday’s funeral. Placed atop Gray’s body was a white pillow with a screened picture of him. A projector aimed at two screens on the walls showed the words “Black Lives Matter & All Lives Matter.”