Cast Members From 'The Wire' Plead For End To Violence In Baltimore

Several cast members of the HBO series "The Wire," which chronicled the Baltimore Police Department and the city of Baltimore, urged those responsible for violence in the city to stop on Monday.
The violence unfolded the same day as the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died last week from injuries sustained while in police custody. It is not yet clear why Gray was arrested in the first place and Baltimore officials and the Department of Justice are investigating the case.
Andre Royo, who played Bubbles on the show, urged Baltimoreans to demonstrate peacefully.

To my Beloved city Baltimore..I feel your pain. Stand up..rise UP without breaking down! Discipline not Destruction. #VictorynotVictims
— Andre Royo (@AndreRoyo) April 27, 2015

Wendell Pierce, who played detective Bunk Moreland on the show, said that those who incited violence and attacked police officers were not protesters.

Baltimore. These are not protestors. These are criminals disrespectful of the wishes of the family and people of good will.
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 27, 2015

And David Simon, the show's creator who was once a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, said that those destroying the city dishonored Gray's memory.
"The anger and the selfishness and the brutality of those claiming the right to violence in Freddie Gray’s name needs to cease," Simon wrote on his website. "Here 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 continued.
Read more on the unrest in Baltimore here.