July 3rd, 2015 by WCBC Radio
Baltimore police — in uniform and plainclothes — will be out in force for Saturday's holiday celebrations that come amid federal warnings about potential terrorist threats and increased violence in the city since the death of Freddie Gray. The city will host its annual Fourth of July Celebration at the Inner Harbor, the largest such event in the Baltimore region, which has drawn about 200,000 people in each of the past few years. Also Saturday, about 5,000 are expected to attend the Monumental Bicentennial event to celebrate the reopening of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. They will be the city's first large-scale events downtown since the April 19 death of Gray, which touched off protests and riots and was followed by a surge in homicides and shootings. The city has recorded 144 homicides in the first half of the year, with more than half coming in the past two months. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the city is ramping up security. She said she's aware of the federal call for heightened awareness but that she has not received specific information about threats to Baltimore.
.jpg)
