Chemical Agent Causes Panic and Injuries at Baltimore Pride

metroweekly.com:

The Baltimore Banner.They declined to report on what might have prompted the release of the chemical agent or how many people were injured.“Our officers are diligently reviewing the surveillance video to gather all the necessary information and determine the sequence of events,” Freddie Talbert, a Baltimore Police public information officer, told the Banner.Talbert said police did not have any information to support the idea that the incident deliberately targeted Pride celebrations.Online social media posts, which described people being trampled by fleeing revelers, suggested the chemical agent was mace, which had reportedly been sprayed after a fight broke out near the stage.

Kate Bowers, a Cockeysville resident who was near the stage at the time, described a scene that appeared to indicate that people in the crowd were suffering from the side effects of being maced.She and her friends reported an inability to stop coughing on the day after the incident.“All of the sudden, people were screaming and running,” Bowers said. “It was like a bomb went off.

The air was so thick. People were throwing up. People were pouring water in each other’s eyes. There was a little kid in a stroller.

They were pouring water in the child’s eyes.”The Pride Center of Maryland, the event’s organizer, tried to calm people’s fears following the incident.The following day, Cleo Manago, its executive director, said that a “group of youths” had used mace during the block party.He said that the chaotic situation at the block party did not appear to impact attendance at other Pride weekend festivities, including Pride in the Park, which featured vendors and musical acts.