World Bulletin / News Desk 

Thousands of demonstrators gathered on the streets here Tuesday to protest police brutality in the wake of a black man's death from spinal injuries suffered while in police custody.

Approximately 3,000 protestors converged near where police stopped 25-year-old Freddie Gray on April 12 for allegedly having an illegal switchblade in his pocket.

Cell phone video of the arrest showed Gray with his hands behind his back, screaming as police lifted him to his feet and dragged him into a transport van. He died at a hospital seven days later.

Cries of "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace" were chanted as demonstrators marched to the police station to express anger over the tragedy.

The slogans have become rallying cries for protesters following a series of high-profile police-involved killings of unarmed blacks in Missouri, New York and Ohio.

A child protester was seen carrying a sign reading, "Kick the KKK out of the BCPD," referring to the American hate group that have employed terror in pursuit of a white supremacist agenda.

At least two activists were reportedly arrested during the largely peaceful demonstration, including a freelance journalist who claimed that the footage in his camera was erased during his three-hour long custody.

An Anadolu Agency reporter at the scene said protesters demanded a fair and speedy investigation in order to prevent tensions in the city from reaching levels seen in Ferguson, Missouri, last year following the shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer.

Baltimore police told reporters that the department would conclude its investigation by May 1.

According to court documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun on Monday, police said Gray was arrested "without force or incident" for having a "one-hand-operated knife" and suffered a medical emergency during his transport to the hospital 30 minutes after his arrest.

Gray's death comes on the heels of a string of recent police-involved killings of black suspects across the country, including deaths of Michael Brown in Missouri, Eric Garner in New York and Walter Scott in South Carolina among others.

The incidents have stirred racial tensions, setting off nationwide protests over perceived injustices within the U.S. justice system.

On April 8, police dash cam video showed an officer drove his cruiser at high speed into an armed suspect in Arizona.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department announced Tuesday that it launched an investigation to determine whether any civil rights violations occurred during Gray's arrest and death.