My father was living in Newark when the $hit hit the fan. He wrote at the time he was taking a stroll past a housing project and one of the local “yoots” pitched a tv out the window - aimed at his head, which narrowly missed. Had it been successful, he (and I) would not be here today.
Gov Romney in Mich did not screw around when Detroit started the crap. He called up the NG plus asked LBJ for federal troops. The 101st Airborne (What was left at Campbell) and the 82nd came fast. They had tanks blasting jerks firing out windows. That is how you stop a riot and the free shopper thieves.
That is why the overpasses in Newark are designed so the mutants can hurl nothing larger than a marble on passing cars of People That Matter. The forbidden zone is effectively quarantined.
Supposedly the Route 280 overpass on Broad Street is designed so that it can be blocked with 2 armored personnel carriers (effectively sealing off the downtown from the north).