93% of Businesses Damaged by Baltimore Riots Have Reopened

Baltimore’s economic development agency says 93 percent of the businesses damaged by rioting, looting and arson in April have reopened.

The Baltimore Development Corp. said in a statement Tuesday that just over 400 businesses suffered property damage or inventory losses during unrest following the death of Freddie Gray.

The quasi-public agency says it awarded $206,000 in grants to 72 businesses. It also made 30 zero-interest loans totaling $660,000.

Those numbers bring the total riot-related costs to at least $33.2 million. That includes a state estimate of $19.4 million for emergency protective measures and public-property damage, plus $12.9 million in paid insurance claims.

Gray was a 25-year-old black man who died from injuries he suffered in police custody after he was arrested on a charge of carrying an illegal switchblade knife.