I agree Baltimore is not a safe place if you are white.
I went down a few years back and was staying at a hotel downtown. They had walkways above the street that I thought were great. In the morning, the walkways were bustling with people, you didn’t need to cross the roads, etc.
I returned to the hotel later that day around 4:30 PM, and when I walked back, all the places had metal cages down and there was NOBODY around. I opened the door to walk out across a walkway, and there were six older teens, black, wearing the usual bad guy stuff...kerchiefs on the head with oversize baseball cap at a angle, baggy pants, hoodies...you get the idea.
I opened the door, took one look at these guys lounging out on this walkway, basically blocking it, looked down at the crowds on the street, and turned around. I had no idea the dynamic of those walkways would be so different in the afternoon from the morning, but they were. I was the only one who didn’t seem to notice.
That town is not safe place.
The bigger clues to you were the time, the place, the behavior and the purpose the group appears to have. Those were all negative. Your concern legitimate.
Baltimore and other places are becoming Gaza and those in charge will not see it. Eyeless....