Stars of The Wire plead for calm in Baltimore as store where Omar Little was killed burns to the ground
- David Simon, creator and writer of The Wire, issued a statement condemning the violence in Baltimore Monday night
- His call was echoed on Twitter by Wendell Pierce and Andre Royo, two of the drama's longest running and best-known cast members
- The Wire, which ran from 2002-2008, was a TV drama about crime in the city and based in part on Simon's years working as a police reporter
The stars of The Wire have added their voices to the pleas for calm in Baltimore as one of the critically-acclaimed show's landmarks - the store where Omar Little was killed - burned to the ground.
Wendell Pierce and Andre Royo, who played Detective William 'Bunk' Moreland and Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins in the Baltimore-based drama, both took to Twitter as the city descended into 'a war zone' last night following the funeral of Freddie Gray.
Their tweets came as the store where popular character Little was shot - one of the pivotal scenes of the series - was destroyed in one of the many blazes started by rioters, angered by Gray's death.
The 25-year-old suffered a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody on April 12.
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Up in flames: This building that was used to shoot a pivotal scene on The Wire was burned down on Monday night. Pictured before the fire on the left, and as the blaze tore through it during the riot
Important moment: The building is where the character of Omar Little was killed on the series
True crime: The Wire was set in Baltimore and based in part on Simon's years working as a police reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Above, a still from the TV show which ended in 2008
Burning: A state of emergency has been declared in Baltimore as the protests turned into riots
Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton tweeted around 10:30pm that Novak's grocery store - which doubled as a Korean-owned shop in the fifth season of the show - was burned down on the east side.
Much of the show was filmed in the city, and while it may have ended in 2008, it seems the cast still have a strong attachment to the area.
'To my Beloved city Baltimore..I feel your pain,' Andre Royo tweeted last night. 'Stand up..rise UP without breaking down! Discipline not Destruction. #VictorynotVictims.'
Shortly before, Pierce had tweeted: 'Baltimore. These are not protestors. These are criminals disrespectful of the wishes of the family and people of good will.'
A state of emergency was declared in the Maryland city as the scale of the riots escalated.
More than 1,000 Maryland police officers, the Maryland National Guard, and 5,000 officers from neighboring states are on standby in the city and the president has been briefed on the situation as violence continues to escalate.
It is the same level of reinforcement the city requested during the riots of 1968 after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.
Fifteen police officers have been injured, many suffering broken bones, and at least one appeared ‘unresponsive’. Two of the 15 are in hospital in a serious condition. At least 27 people have been arrested.
A $16million nursing home built by a Baptist church, which was due to open in December after eight years of construction, has been burned to rubble on the city's east side. Just two blocks away, a housing development was also ablaze.
Star: Pierce, far right, as Detective Bunk in the critically acclaimed drama The Wire
Beloved: Andre Royo - best known for his role as Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins in The Wire, also spoke out
Knowledge: Royo's character Bubbles was a recovering heroin addict who was a police informer
'Turn Around. Go Home.': David Simon, writer and creator of long-rinning TV series The Wire, spoke out against the violence in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday
Meanwhile, The Wire's creator David Simon released a statement on his website urging the rioters still in the streets to go home and stop tarnishing the name of Freddie Gray.
'Yes, there is a lot to be argued, debated, addressed...Changes are necessary and voices need to be heard. All of that is true and all of that is still possible, despite what is now loose in the streets,' Simon wrote.
However, he goes on to say that the 'anger, selfishness and brutality' in Gray's name needs to stop.
'There was real power and potential in the peaceful protests that spoke in Mr Gray’s name initially, and there was real unity at his homegoing today. But this, now, in the streets, is an affront to that man’s memory and a dimunition of the absolute moral lesson that underlies his unnecessary death.
'If you can’t seek redress and demand reform without a brick in your hand, you risk losing this moment for all of us in Baltimore. Turn around. Go home. Please,' Simon said.
Before writing The Wire, Simon worked for years as a police reporter for the Baltimore Sun.
Those years of experience covering the problems of the city were used as a basis for the show, which covered a different aspect of Baltimore in each season - from the illegal drug trade to the school system.
While The Wire only brought in average ratings and never won any major television awards, it is considered by critics to be one of the best TV dramas of all time.
Riot: Police stand guard in Baltimore - at least 15 officers have been injured
Burning up: Above, a car burns on a street in Baltimore, Maryland after rioters took to the streets Monday night
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