Baltimore Police confirmed the “chemical agent” released at a Baltimore Pride event on Saturday evening was Mace, but the sequence of events left some attendees confused about what actually happened.
“What was kind of wild was that there were multiple incidents throughout the day, which may be why some people’s accounts don’t really match,” said Margie Miller, a 36-year-old Baltimore City resident who attended the annual Pride Parade and Block Party.
Miller said she first saw people running when she was dancing to Sasha Miles’ DJ set, which began at 5:40 p.m., according to his Instagram account, near a smaller stage. She sought shelter behind a truck and heard people saying there were shots fired. Then others said it was a car accident, she said, which prompted some to worry the car had driven into the crowd.
Later, she saw running again between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. by the main music stage.
Baltimore Police said Mace was sprayed when a fight broke out between two groups in front of the main music stage near North Avenue and Charles Street at approximately 8:30 p.m. Three people came in contact with the Mace, which was not released by police, and were treated at a local hospital, the department said.
Around the same time, police said, fireworks were set off in the crowd, prompting a “mass exodus,” which led to several injuries
Miller and her friends were resting against a brick wall around that time when people started running past them, she said. Something in the air prompted everyone to start coughing, and once they could no longer breathe, they decided to leave the area, she said.
“I don’t think I was even trying to process what it was,” Miller said. “I was sort of just trying to stay safe, not breathe in the agent, not get run over by people.”
Just another day in Baltimore.
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