Top 10 Most Googled News Stories in 2015

8. Baltimore Riots

Another important news story this year was that of the Baltimore riots. These took place back in April following the arrest of one Freddie Gray. Although the 25-year-old was in apparent good health when he was arrested, he was injured and died a week later. According to news sources, Gray sustained injuries to his neck and spine while being transported by the police, which, of course, led people to believe that he had been beaten by the officers. Following his arrest, he fell into a coma before dying a week later, on April 19.

The protest had already started to take place on the streets of Baltimore following his hospitalization and intensified following news of his death. Police brutality has been a hot topic in recent years as more and more evidence of such events surfaced. The fact that the police department didn’t manage to come out with a consistent story to explain what happened didn’t help their cause. The riots continued over multiple days, leading to dozens of police officers injured, hundreds of people arrested and hundreds of businesses damaged by rioters, while cars were being set on fire. A state of emergency was declared in Baltimore and thousands of police and National Guard troops were deployed to help with the situation.

In the end, Gray’s death was ruled a homicide. Six officers involved in the incident were charged with second-degree murder.