Baltimore Activists Hold 'Victory Rally' After Charges In Gray Death

By Scott Neuman

Published May 2, 2015 at 7:31 AM CDT

Protesters march from the Gilmor Homes, where Freddie Gray was arrested, to City Hall on Saturday in Baltimore.

A photo provided by the Baltimore Police Department on Friday shows, top row from left, Caesar R. Goodson Jr., Garrett E. Miller and Edward M. Nero, and bottom row from left, William G. Porter, Brian W. Rice and Alicia D. White, the six police officers charged with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the death of Freddie Gray.

Updated at 2:10 p.m. ET

Hundreds in Baltimore began a "victory rally" to celebrate a decision by the city's top prosecutor to charge six officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, the young black man who died from a spinal injury he sustained in police custody.

The rally began at 2 p.m. in the West Baltimore neighborhood where Gray lived and was making its way to City Hall.

On Friday, Marilyn J. Mosby, the state's attorney for Baltimore, laid out the charges against the officers, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Four were charged with felonies and two with misdemeanors. On April 19, Gray died of a spinal injury believed to have been sustained during or after his arrest the previous week.

Thousands of marchers are expected in the streets today, according to The Associated Press. On Monday, Gray's funeral sparked rioting in West Baltimore that led to the arrests of more than 200 people.

Mosby's announcement on Friday triggered celebrations on the same streets where the looting and vandalism took place, AP says. More than 1,000 people also marched to the city jail to seek the release of people detained during this week's unrest.

WBAL-TV reports: "From there, marchers wound through city streets to the site of Monday's rioting, then through the neighborhood where Gray was arrested and toward western district police headquarters."