looting they saw last night. groups of rioters started by looting a cvs, then burned it to the ground. then a liquor store and check cashing store. they threw objects at police. fire crews unable to do their job when some of the rioters came out and put holes in hoses. it raised a lot of questions about the response. a lot of people questioning did the city s mayor do enough. she spoke about that late last night. i think it is again, i want to thank the governor for his support for being here and baltimore as we bring order. it is a very delicate balancing act to make sure you protect people s right to free speech. their right to protest. the fact people exploited the opportunity to protest with violence and looting doesn t
take a look at this map, it shows just how widespread the violence was. the initial clash with police started outside a mall on the west side spread towards downtown. check cashing store, cvs, as well which was burned along with a senior citizen center under construction and other businesses. nbc s rahima ellis is in baltimore, joining us right now. a lot to talk about, but looking back at last night and how quickly it grew out of control, many are questioning the mayor and city leaders as to the timeline and why it seems we were all watching this play out and these crowds were growing and the police visibility was minimal at some points. reporter: indeed. in fact i talked to some people out on that corner of north and penn where that cvs was burned down and some people even think that the police may have their action or lack of action may have contributed to this crowd getting out of control. so many of them told me there was a very distinct difference