By — Michael Balsamo, Associated Press Michael Balsamo, Associated Press Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/panic-at-dc-pride-parade-after-reports-of-gun-mistaken-gunfire Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Panic at DC pride parade after reports of gun, mistaken gunfire Nation Jun 9, 2019 12:25 PM EDT WASHINGTON — A panic caused by a mistaken belief that a gun had been fired during a pride parade in the nation’s capital sent people running through the city’s streets, authorities said. Police said some who fled had minor injuries and seven were taken to hospitals. “As the officers were going to the scene, there was a crowd of people going away from it and some of the individuals in the crowd said there was a man with a gun and that someone had fired a shot,” said Guillermo Rivera, a commander with the Metropolitan Police Department. The man was taken into custody and is facing a gun possession charge, Rivera said. City officials said no shots were fired Saturday evening. Scene at #DCPride after noises were mistaken for gunfire. While it was a false alarm, the American public have been conditioned to expect a mass shooting. The world we live in is extremely sad.pic.twitter.com/nF3WwxOHlQ — Joseph Sakran (@JosephSakran) June 9, 2019 It is devastating that we live in a country and a time where the thought of an active shooter at a #Pride event is not just imaginable but plausible. Thankfully, the reports of a shooting at #DCPride was a false alarm. But we shouldn’t have to be this scared.#GVAM #PrideMonth — Women's March (@womensmarch) June 9, 2019 Even if it turns out no shots were fired at #dcpride that doesn’t mean real trauma didn’t just occur. LGBTQ people live in fear of something like this happening every day. To run because you think your life is in danger is traumatic. — Emily C. Heath (@emilycheath) June 9, 2019 “There is NO Active Shooter at Dupont Circle. There are injuries from people running from what they thought were gunshots. But there is NO ACTIVE SHOOTER at Dupont Circle,” Kevin Donahue, the deputy mayor for public safety, said in a tweet posted shortly after the incident. Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted that she had been briefed by police and there were “no shots fired.” She said fire department personnel were “on the scene to treat minor injuries / due to reports of a shooting.” Elizabeth Hernandez, 19, was among the thousands celebrating LGBTQ pride in the city when she said she heard “pop, pop” and suddenly barricades were being tossed over and a crowd of people starting running frantically from the area. “Everything fell and everyone said ‘run!,'” said Hernandez, of Falls Church, Virginia. She ran down the block and was pushed into a restaurant, where she went into a bathroom with a group of fellow revelers. Ashley Smith, the president of Capital Pride Alliance, which puts on the event, said he saw people running toward him from Dupont Circle. “We cannot allow this incident, until we know all the facts of it, we cannot allow this incident to ruin the pride celebration going on this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re very focused on wanting to make sure we continue to have a great event for the rest of the weekend.” He said the group spends extensive time planning security procedures. Rivera said police felt they had an “adequate amount of resources on the ground, which is why we were able to respond so quickly.” By — Michael Balsamo, Associated Press Michael Balsamo, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A panic caused by a mistaken belief that a gun had been fired during a pride parade in the nation’s capital sent people running through the city’s streets, authorities said. Police said some who fled had minor injuries and seven were taken to hospitals. “As the officers were going to the scene, there was a crowd of people going away from it and some of the individuals in the crowd said there was a man with a gun and that someone had fired a shot,” said Guillermo Rivera, a commander with the Metropolitan Police Department. The man was taken into custody and is facing a gun possession charge, Rivera said. City officials said no shots were fired Saturday evening. Scene at #DCPride after noises were mistaken for gunfire. While it was a false alarm, the American public have been conditioned to expect a mass shooting. The world we live in is extremely sad.pic.twitter.com/nF3WwxOHlQ — Joseph Sakran (@JosephSakran) June 9, 2019 It is devastating that we live in a country and a time where the thought of an active shooter at a #Pride event is not just imaginable but plausible. Thankfully, the reports of a shooting at #DCPride was a false alarm. But we shouldn’t have to be this scared.#GVAM #PrideMonth — Women's March (@womensmarch) June 9, 2019 Even if it turns out no shots were fired at #dcpride that doesn’t mean real trauma didn’t just occur. LGBTQ people live in fear of something like this happening every day. To run because you think your life is in danger is traumatic. — Emily C. Heath (@emilycheath) June 9, 2019 “There is NO Active Shooter at Dupont Circle. There are injuries from people running from what they thought were gunshots. But there is NO ACTIVE SHOOTER at Dupont Circle,” Kevin Donahue, the deputy mayor for public safety, said in a tweet posted shortly after the incident. Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted that she had been briefed by police and there were “no shots fired.” She said fire department personnel were “on the scene to treat minor injuries / due to reports of a shooting.” Elizabeth Hernandez, 19, was among the thousands celebrating LGBTQ pride in the city when she said she heard “pop, pop” and suddenly barricades were being tossed over and a crowd of people starting running frantically from the area. “Everything fell and everyone said ‘run!,'” said Hernandez, of Falls Church, Virginia. She ran down the block and was pushed into a restaurant, where she went into a bathroom with a group of fellow revelers. Ashley Smith, the president of Capital Pride Alliance, which puts on the event, said he saw people running toward him from Dupont Circle. “We cannot allow this incident, until we know all the facts of it, we cannot allow this incident to ruin the pride celebration going on this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re very focused on wanting to make sure we continue to have a great event for the rest of the weekend.” He said the group spends extensive time planning security procedures. Rivera said police felt they had an “adequate amount of resources on the ground, which is why we were able to respond so quickly.”