“Possible chemical agent” released at Baltimore Pride, causing panic and injuries

Attendees at an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Baltimore scattered and fled after an unidentified chemical agent was released.

At around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, a “possible chemical agent,” which has not yet been identified, was sprayed in front of a live music stage during the city’s Pride celebration, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has yet to determine what the chemical agent was.

Simultaneously with the release of the chemical, fireworks were set off in the crowd, causing what the Sun described as a “mass exodus.” The rush of people scrambling led to an unspecified number of injuries. Baltimore fire officials are reviewing the footage to gather more information about who set off the agent and the unplanned fireworks, according to ‘Them’.

“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 Sun.

Image Credit: Canva

Currently, police state they lack enough information to confirm this was a targeted attack. (The BPD confirmed to NBC News that law enforcement did not release the chemical.)

Cleo Manago, the executive director of the Pride Center of Maryland (PCOM), the organization overseeing the festivities, blamed “a group of youths” for the agent, according to the local news site The Baltimore Banner. He did not indicate why he thought a group of young people was responsible.

“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 said in a statement to the Banner.

Some posts from attendees on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, conjectured that the chemical agent might have been Mace used after a fight broke out in the crowd, according to the Banner.

Queer rapper Saucy Santana was performing his headlining set when the incident happened. In the final photo of his eight-slide post on Instagram thanking Baltimore Pride, people can be seen running and dispersing in a panic.

One attendee described the incident in an interview with the Banner, saying, “All of a sudden, people were screaming and running. It was like a bomb went off. The air was so thick,” Kate Bowers, a Maryland resident, told the outlet. “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.”

According to the Banner, the disruption on Saturday did not affect attendance at Sunday’s events.

Read related myGwork articles here:

Pride in London unveils 2024 campaign: #WeAreEverywhere

Pride was banned but over 150,000 South Koreans still marched

Taylor Swift wishes crowd a ‘happy Pride Month’ during Eras Tour Show in France

Toronto unveils world's longest rainbow road for Pride Month

Keep up to date with the latest myGnews

LGBTQ+ professionals, LGBTQ+ Graduates, LGBTQ+ professional network, LGBTQ+ professional events, LGBTQ+ networking events, LGBTQ+ Recruitment, LGBTQ+ Friendly organizations, LGBTQ+ Friendly companies, LGBTQ+ jobs