Two juveniles were stabbed in Dupont Circle Park on Saturday evening during Pride festivities, and a man was later shot near the park, D.C. police said.
The two stabbing victims, both male, were conscious and breathing when taken to hospitals with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, according to police. The man who was shot was also conscious and breathing and was expected to survive, police said.
It was not clear whether the incidents were connected to the Pride activities.
The stabbings occurred just after 7 p.m. during a fight between what police described in a statement as “groups of juveniles.” A witness said it appeared the victims were being treated just east of the park on Massachusetts Avenue NW.
It was not clear what prompted the fight, and other details of the confrontation were not available. Police did not provide the juvenile victims’ ages.
The shooting occurred at 7:52 p.m., after the police had cleared the park. It happened immediately south of the circle in the 1300 block of 19th Street NW, police said.
The man was hit in the foot and was taken to a hospital, police said.
It could not be determined Saturday night whether the man or his assailant had been at the park before it was cleared.
As of Saturday night, no arrests had been reported.
The incidents came after authorities
reopened
Dupont Circle Park ahead of Saturday’s WorldPride celebrations. The National Park Service had originally ordered the park to be fenced off from Friday through Sunday, but it reversed course at the request of the D.C. government.
The 19th Street Metro entrance was temporarily closed at Dupont Circle because of the police investigation, according to
Metrorail Info
.
Police had completely cleared Dupont Circle Park as the sun was setting at 8 p.m., and the park that hours earlier held hundreds in a vibrant dance party was silent, save for the chatter of police radios and an occasional siren.
Dozens of uniformed officers stood in a line on the traffic circle around the park, and crime-scene tape cordoned off several streets leading in. Pride celebrants continued to stream through the neighborhood around the park. Most ignored the police and continued on with their nights.
At the Admiral, a nearby restaurant, revelers ducked under police tape to be seated on the patio, which was bathed in the red and blue flashing lights of police cars.
“People definitely were a little alarmed, but then I think it calmed down relatively quickly,” said server Sydney Willis.
She said she heard a gunshot, then ran to shelter inside the restaurant. She estimates she saw about 10 officers run through the alley next to the building and described the scene as one of chaos and panic. But not long after, she was back to seating tables.
“I get really upset, because I think Pride should be really fun. I think everybody should be having fun and dancing and hugging and kissing each other and drinking responsibly,” Willis said. “Everybody was dancing, having a good time. And then, it wasn’t fun anymore.”