by Kadeem Simmonds

Former National Football League (NFL) linebacker Ray Lewis pleaded with people to stop rioting in Baltimore and help clean up the city.

The ex Baltimore Ravens player took to Twitter in a heartfelt message to the public, telling children to go home, and asked the community to come together.

The riots started on Monday after the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died in police custody on April 19 with a spinal injury which the police have yet to explain..

Lewis said on Twitter: “No way, no way this can happen in our city.“#Violence is not the answer. We must have #peace in our #city, we are a city that’s built on #Believing in each other. #BaltimoreRiots.

“We must come together,we can stop the violence as a #community. These kids have to have real leaders,we need everybody to join this #movement.”

Lewis, who spent his entire 16-year career at the Ravens, then posted a video on Facebook in which he said: “Young kids, you have to understand something. Get off the streets. Violence is not the answer, it has never been the answer.

“Freddie Gray, we don’t do nothing for him doing this. We know there’s a deeper issue. “We know what the jungle looks like but this isn’t it. There’s enough of us in the streets trying to change what’s going on.

“Baltimore get off the streets. Kids go home. Stay home. You don’t have no right doing what you are doing to this city. Too many hard working people built this city.

“We put this city together, we put this city on our back. We know what’s going on. We know the problems. We know there was wrong done. We know we are not getting the right justice.”

Former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith also spoke out, saying:“Violent protests have never produced the results that we have wanted. Even the great Martin Luther King adjusted his strategy.”