A man sits on a bicycle in front of a line of police officers in riot gear ahead of a 10 p.m. curfew in the wake of Monday's riots following the funeral for Freddie Gray, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) - Schools reopened across the city and tensions seemed to ease Wednesday after Baltimore made it through the first night of its curfew without the widespread violence many had feared.
With 3,000 police and National Guardsmen trying to keep the peace and prevent a repeat of the looting and arson that erupted on Monday, the citywide, 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew ended with no reports of disturbances in the early morning hours.
Baltimore's school system said all schools would be open and after-school sports and other activities would also take place. Monday's riots began when high schools let out for the day and students clashed with police near a major bus transfer point.
But life was unlikely to get completely back to normal anytime soon: The curfew was set to go back into effect at 10 p.m. And baseball officials — in what promised to be one of the weirdest spectacles in major-league history — announced that Wednesday's Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards would be closed to the public for safety reasons.
Activists stressed that they will continue to press for answers in the case of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man whose death from a spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances while in police custody set off the riots.
A group of pastors announced plans to hold a rally and prayer vigil for the city and Gray's family at noon.
The curfew got off to a not-so-promising start Thursday night when about 200 protesters ignored warnings from police and pleas from pastors and other community activists to disperse. Some threw water bottles or lay down on the ground.
A line of officers behind riot shields hurled tear gas canisters and fired pepper balls at the crowd, which dispersed in a matter of minutes.
Just before midnight Tuesday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts declared the curfew a success.
"We do not have a lot of active movement throughout the city as a whole. ... Tonight I think the biggest thing is the citizens are safe, the city is stable," he said. "We hope to maintain it that way."
Batts said 10 people were arrested soon after the curfew went into effect: two for looting, one for disorderly conduct, and seven for violating the curfew.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday on "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," President Barack Obama said the riots show that police departments need to build more trust in black communities.
He called on police departments "to hold accountable people when they do something wrong" and said Attorney General Loretta Lynch is reaching out to mayors about retraining police and providing body cameras.
The president also said underlying problems such as poor education, drugs and limited job opportunities must be addressed.
Looting, fires and gunfire broke out overnight in Ferguson, Missouri, during protests triggered by Gray's death in Baltimore. Ferguson was rocked by violence last year over the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
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Associated Press writers Juliet Linderman, Matthew Barakat, Tom Foreman Jr., Jessica Gresko, Brian Witte and Jeff Horwitz contributed to this report.
Images: Protests, cleanup, and tense curfew follow riots in Baltimore
White Sox game with Orioles postponed again, will play Wednesday afternoon
A woman runs for safety as police throw tear gas canisters while enforcing curfew, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, a day after unrest that occurred following Freddie Gray's funeral. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Members of the National Guard walk along North Avenue near where Monday's riots occurred following the funeral for Freddie Gray, after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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A woman runs for safety as police throw tear gas canisters while enforcing curfew, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, a day after unrest that occurred following Freddie Gray's funeral. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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A protestor walks through a cloud of tear gas as police in riot gear advance on the crowd after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect in the wake of Monday's riots following the funeral for Freddie Gray, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Lee Martel, 27, holds a sign during a protest, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Los Angeles following the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died from spinal injuries while in police custody. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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A protester throws a tear gas canister back toward riot police after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect in the wake of Monday's riots following the funeral for Freddie Gray, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Police advance through a cloud of tear gas as they enforce curfew, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, a day after unrest that occurred following Freddie Gray's funeral. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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A protestor walks away as police in riot gear advance on the crowd after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect in the wake of Monday's riots following the funeral for Freddie Gray, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Maryland National Guardsmen pass a woman walking dogs in the Harbor East neighborhood of Baltimore, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, a day following unrest that occurred after Freddie Gray's funeral. . Gray died from spinal injuries about a week after he was arrested and transported in a Baltimore Police Department van. His death has become the latest flashpoint in the nationâs debate over the police use of force against black men. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Jerrie Mckenny, center left, and her sister, Tia Sexton embrace as people sing the hymn "Amazing Grace" Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. The streets were largely calm in the morning and into the afternoon, but authorities remained on edge against the possibility of another outbreak of looting, vandalism and arson. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Volunteers clean up a business damaged during an evening of riots following the funeral of Freddie Gray on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. The violence that started in West Baltimore on Monday afternoon had spread to East Baltimore and neighborhoods close to downtown and near Camden Yards. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, left, speaks as Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, center, listens, during a news conference, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko)
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A Maryland State Trooper walks through a business damaged during an evening of riots following the funeral of Freddie Gray on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore. The violence that started in West Baltimore on Monday afternoon had spread to East Baltimore and neighborhoods close to downtown and near Camden Yards. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Volunteers clean a CVS pharmacy Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. Hundreds of volunteers are cleaning up the wreckage left by rioters in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Maryland National Guardsmen patrol near office buildings, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, a day following unrest that occurred after Freddie Gray's funeral. Gray died from spinal injuries about a week after he was arrested and transported in a Baltimore Police Department van. His death, under still-mysterious circumstances, has become the latest flashpoint in the nationâs debate over the police use of force against black men. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Associated Press
Maryland National Guardsmen patrol near downtown office buildings, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, a day following unrest that occurred after Freddie Gray's funeral. Gray died from spinal injuries about a week after he was arrested and transported in a Baltimore Police Department van. His death has become the latest flashpoint in the nationâs debate over the police use of force against black men. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Associated Press
Jason Park, left, and his friend business owner Sung Kang, second left, leave his damaged store, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. The violence that started in West Baltimore on Monday afternoon had spread to East Baltimore and neighborhoods close to downtown and near Camden Yards. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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People gather Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference Tuesday that Baltimore will not have a repeat of the riots that happened on Monday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Volunteers clean a CVS pharmacy Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. Hundreds of volunteers are cleaning up the wreckage left by rioters in the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Associated Press
Jerrie Mckenny, center left, and her sister, Tia Sexton embrace as people sing the hymn Amazing Grace Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Baltimore, in the aftermath of rioting following Monday's funeral for Freddie Gray, who died in police custody. The streets were largely calm in the morning and into the afternoon, but authorities remained on edge against the possibility of another outbreak of looting, vandalism and arson. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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