Baltimore riots: Man caught on camera slashing hose as firefighters battle to save CVS pharmacy

Dozens of people were arrested as disorder swept the city overnight

A man is seen puncturing a fire hose with a knife during riots in Baltimore (YouTube/CNN)

A rioter in Baltimore has been caught on camera slashing a hose with a knife as firefighters battled to save a looted pharmacy from flames.

CNN was reporting on the unrest in the US city on Monday when the man, wearing a gas mask to hide his face, calmly approached the hose and punctured it in two places, sending pressurised water spurting into the air.

“So you would rather have your neighbourhood burn?” the correspondent asked as the man escaped on a bicycle.

An interviewee, who appeared to support to riots, said people would go “as far as they (the police) take us” following years of tensions.

The violence started following the funeral of Freddie Gray on Monday, a 25-year-old black man who died after suffering a spinal injury while in police custody.

Demonstrations that started after his death on 19 April intensified on Saturday, when more than 30 people were arrested during disorder.

The man who slashed the fire hose poses in front of a police line in Baltimore on 27 April (AP)

Baltimore erupted in violence again last night as hundreds of people looted stores, burned buildings and injured at least 15 police officers in disorder that spread through the west of the city.

Echoing scenes in the suburb of Ferguson following the shooting of Michael Brown last year, protesters were met by walls of riot police in the streets, hurling missiles they tried to push them back.

Firefighters battled several blazes, including one that consumed a church's pensioners’ centre. Off licences, pharmacies and shopping centre were looted and rioters smashed car windows outside a hotel.

“All this had to happen, people getting tired of the police killing the young black guys for no reason,” said Tony Luster, 40, as he watched the chaos. “It is a sad day but it had to happen.”

Police made at least 27 arrests and Baltimore schools, businesses and train stations were closed today.

Mr Gray was arrested on 12 April when running from officers, on suspicion of carrying a weapon.

He was transported to a police station in a van, with no seat restraint, and suffered the spinal injury that led to his death a week later.

A car burns in Baltimore (Getty Images)

A lawyer for his family claimed his spine was 80 per cent severed at the neck while in custody.

Six officers have been suspended US Justice Department is investigating the incident.

Mr Gray’s death reignited public outrage over police treatment of black suspects that flared last year after the killings of unarmed men in Ferguson, New York City and elsewhere.

A CVS chemist outlet burns in Baltimore after it was set alight by rioters (AP)

His relatives pleaded for peaceful demonstrations and after the looting started, pastors and community leaders took to the streets to try to prevent violent clashes between young men and police.

A state of emergency has been declared in the city by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who sent in the National Guard and has imposed a curfew starting tonight.

Additional reporting by Reuters