Latino resident of Baltimore on Wednesday held a march and vigil to voice their concern over the recent riots in the Maryland city and call for justice and peace in their neighborhoods, Fox News Latino reported.

Leaders of the local Hispanic community have said that its members empathize with African-Americans protesting the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died of a spinal injury days after being taken into police custody. But they also strongly oppose the violence, destruction of property and looting of businesses that has marked recent protests.

Still, Wednesday's event was mainly meant to be a show of solidarity, said Jesus Perez, a Mexican immigrant who lives in the area where the riots took place on Monday.

"The march is to say: 'We are with them,'" he insisted. "The African-American community wants answers, they want justice, and we are in solidarity with them on that. We've had our own cases of people being treated unfairly, with the police stopping them arbitrarily," Perez added.

Gustavo Torres, the executive director of the Casa de Maryland advocacy group, which coordinated the march, echoed the protester's sentiments, MSNBC noted.

"The African-American community has been suffering tremendously for many years," he told the cable news channel. "Latinos also have been in the same situation. That is the reason why we are together. ... We believe that's the only way to bring justice to our communities," Torres explained.

Baltimore's Latino population has almost doubled over the last 10 years, U.S. Census data reveal, and one in 20 residents of Maryland's largest city today is Hispanic. And the growing community is concerned about hostile relationships between law enforcement and minorities, the advocate added.

"We believe that is totally unacceptable what the police have been doing," Torres said, "so we are demanding more accountability for the police department."

The Rev. Robert Wajtek, whose church teaches immigrants English, said that many of his students were so concerned about the rioting that they called ahead to check if classes had been canceled -- and he told them to stay home "so they could avoid public transportation."

His congregants were "disheartened and feeling disbelief that his happening," Wajtek said about the violence.