The city of Baltimore’s Pride Festival ended in chaos after someone in the crowd released mace, followed by uncalled-for fireworks, causing the entire crowd to panic, according to the Baltimore Police.
The Pride Center of Maryland (PCOM) hosted Baltimore’s annual Pride festival on Saturday, June 15, featuring a stage where artist Saucy Santana performed. That night, at about 8:37 p.m., Baltimore Police received a call about an incident that reported the release of an “unknown chemical agent,” potentially mace, hairspray, or “another chemical,” into the crowd. This, along with the random fireworks set off, ultimately caused hundreds of people in the crowd to flee, resulting in injuries.
The Baltimore Police made it clear that no officers had released the chemical agent. As they continued to investigate what the chemical agent was, recent updates indicated that it was indeed mace. According to Lindsey Eldridge, chief of public affairs and community outreach for the Baltimore Police, a fight between two groups led to the abrupt release of the mace.
Eldridge also tells The Advocate that three people were treated and released from a nearby hospital after being affected by the mace. “We do not have any information to support that this was a targeted attack,” an officer from the Baltimore police department said.
Fireworks erupted shortly after the incident with the mace, frightening the crowd and causing what the Baltimore Sun reporters described as a “mass exodus.” Eventually, the Baltimore Fire Department shut down the event, ready to respond to any injured individuals in the crowd.
“There were people on the ground getting stomped on by the crowd,” a person who attended that night wrote on X. “It was all-around traumatizing.”
On Sunday, PCOM Executive Director Cleo Manago said a “group of youths” released Mace into the crowd but did not specify any other additional observations.
”PCOM considers community safety a priority, which sparked an earlier conversation about moving the Baltimore Pride Festival to a venue more conducive to controlling what people bring in,” Manago states in The Baltimore Banner.
During the incident, queer rapper Saucy Santana was headlining. His recent Instagram posts feature footage of the crowd running in complete terror in his final video slide.
Kate Bowers, a Maryland resident, attended the festival that day. Worried and shocked, she tells The Baltimore Banner, “All of a sudden, people were screaming and running. 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.”
However, despite this terrifying incident, people in Baltimore ultimately didn’t let fear overcome them, and Pride on Sunday was just as lively and full. Manago said that the crowds this year appeared to have doubled from last year’s, with an expected 100,000 people gathered to celebrate Pride weekend festivities in the city.
