Baltimore Neighborhood Continues Rebuilding After Riots
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Six months after Freddie Gray riots ripped up parts of Baltimore, destroying community buildings and stores, some of them are back open this weekend.
Gigi Barnett takes a look at one community's effort to rebuild.
A playground at Gilmore Elementary in west Baltimore got a new look. The school is not far from where Freddie Gray riots broke out back in April. Six months later, it's time to rebuild.
"After the unrest we came out here on the playground and we did a lot of cleaning, we spruced it up the best we good" said Victoria, Hoffman, Gilmore Elem. Art Teacher
The United Way of Central Maryland teamed up with several community groups to bring the school back to life. Volunteers say the playground is the positive distraction some children need.
"If the kids don't have somewhere to play, somewhere to get their energy out, they're going to find other things and those other things might not always be great," said one volunteer.
Just a few miles away on MLK Boulevard, a Rite Aid reopened. It was charred and gutted in the riots, one of several drugstores targeted. Looters focused on the pharmacy, which caused customers to scramble for their prescriptions.
Now new technology guards the store.
The Rite Aid opened earlier this week and have hosted several events including a health fair to get customers back into the store, shoppers say they're glad it's back.
Police say looters ransacked 27 pharmacies during the riots after Freddie Gray's death.
