Baltimore native: My heart is just breaking for my hometown

NORTH CHARLESTON (WCSC) - Dr. Paula Orr moved to Charleston with her husband more than 15 years ago.

Now raising kids of her own in the Lowcountry, Dr. Orr remembers her childhood in Baltimore, Maryland.

"My heart is just breaking for my hometown," she said.

Dr. Orr recalls the shock when she first saw the images depicting a war zone in Baltimore near the neighborhood that she still calls home.

"It kind of reminds me of some of the riots from the 1960s when people were burning down cities," Dr. Orr said. "Unfortunately, burning down the community that they live in."

Dr. Orr understands that rioters are upset about Freddie Gray's death.

"Having grown up in Baltimore, I can recall that the police were often not counted as your friend," she added.

But she says rioting and looting won't solve the problem.

"The message I have for the people who are acting out and destroying their own communities is they just need to go home. Because when this is all over, they still have to live in those communities," she said.

If anything positive comes out of Monday's riots, Dr. Orr hopes a national conversation starts between police officers and the communities they serve.

"What you see is images of a community that is hurting," Dr. Orr said.