NYC Pride sees 2 teens shot near iconic Stonewall Inn, over 50 injured when man deploys bear spray in Washington Square

Following New York City’s Pride March on Sunday, two people were shot near Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn and dozens more were injured after a man unleashed bear spray at a celebration in Washington Square Park. 

Per the New York Post, officers responded to a report of shots fired at around 10:15 pm on Sunday, just around the corner from the famed LGBTQ bar. A police spokesperson told the outlet that a 16-year-old girl was in critical condition and a 17-year-old girl was in stable condition. Both were taken to local hospitals. 

No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, and it is currently unclear whether the shooting was targeted or how many suspects were involved. 

One bystander told the outlet, "This area has been packed with people all day, and we were getting ready to party through the night, and then, all of a sudden, ‘Boom boom boom!’ — everyone’s ducking and running for cover and screaming. It was complete pandemonium."

Earlier in the evening, a shirtless man was arrested after deploying bear spray at Washington Square Park. A stampede ensued at the same time after rumors of gunfire led to thousands of people fleeing the park. Over 50 people were injured. It was unclear how many injuries were related to the bear spray and how many were related to the stampede.

Around 10,000 were estimated to have been in the park at the time. Sources told the New York Post that the suspect reportedly thought he was going to be jumped, leading to him panicking and spraying the chemical in self-defense. 

Omari Loftin, a 20-year-old who was present in the park at the time, told the outlet, "We all thought some fanatic with a gun was shooting people, so of course we all ran in whatever direction would get us out of the park the fastest. But because there were thousands and thousands of people, you had all these barricades up preventing you from making the fastest escape. So we all had to file out in an organized fashion, which no one wanted to do because we were all scared."

Isaiah Whitehurst, 23, said, "Everyone’s dancing, everyone’s partying, and then everyone’s screaming. My friends and I didn’t know what happened, but word going around was that there were gunshots. I didn’t hear gunshots, but when you hear the word ‘gunshots,’ that’s all you really need to get yourself the f*ck out of there."

"There was a stampede. People were screaming, tripping all over themselves. Cops were trying to clear the park, but there was barricades up and everyone’s getting pushed up so tight against the barricades and it’s like a bottleneck."