Based on the blown up photo it looks real to me, not photo shopped. Look at his skin around the knife. It is folded up, affected by the grip of an object. At the very least I can say pretty confidently he was holding something.
People are really doubting the legitimacy of that photo??? News flash: it was a mob scene there. Granted, going to the O's game on the same day that rallies were being held just blocks away isn't too smart, but that does not usurp one's right to self defense.
A knife goes every where I do, as they do with many of you. It'd be a sidearm of md law allowed. They are for these very reasons. I hope that man walked away relatively unscathed, but the psychological and emotional scars from Saturday are likely to run very deep with many. Perceptions of Baltimore were shaken. People are scared and they aren't likely to return. The sooner self defense rights are honored and embraced by our administration and legislature, the better things will be. We know this. It's out job as ambassadors to make sure others know it too.
I don't think my perceptions of Baltimore were shaken as much as they were fully realized to be true. Avoid that place like the plague for the most part. When I do go there for the occasional night out I try to be off the streets and out of the city before 8pm.