DC Pride Parade Panic
I was down on the streets when it happened, a block away from Dupont Circle on North Hampshire and Q Street.
There was a lull in the parade. Everyone thought the next float was just running late. There were a couple of incidents like that.
But then the crowd started running.
In front of us, there were people running instead of floats. Behind us, there were dozens of people running right at us, screaming “Run!”
I froze.
My mom, the person who I went to the parade with me, grabbed my arm and tugged. This sprung me into action. We ran into a building and hid. The other people with us told us to text our loved ones since they believed there was an active shooter nearby.
It’s sad to think that I believed them right away. The pride parade drew a big crowd and there are plenty of people who would want to target LGBT people. It made sense to me why there would be an active shooter here.
Thankfully, it was a false alarm. However, the threat might have been false, but the fear and panic we felt was true.
