Ms Rawlings-Blake has ordered a week-long curfew from 22:00 to 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT to 09:00 GMT) starting on Tuesday. Public schools are to be closed on Tuesday.

National Guard commander Linda Singh said that up to 5,000 troops could be put on the streets.

“We will be out in massive force,” she said, adding that armoured vehicles would be used, but the city would not be under martial law.

Extra police officers are also being drafted in from the Mid-Atlantic region.

This is scary as shit to me.

5000 troops?