Police: BB gun caused panic at Pride parade
A man with a BB gun angry at another man for hitting his partner set off events that led hundreds of people to flee the Capital Pride Parade in Washington on Saturday, fearing a mass shooter, D.C. police said Sunday.
Reports that shots had been fired sent people running through the streets shortly after 7 p.m., and witness accounts and video spread quickly on social media.
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said shortly afterward that “there were no shots fired.” D.C. police Cmdr. Guillermo Rivera added in an evening news conference: “We had officers close by, and at this point, there’s no evidence of any gunshots.”
Police said Sunday morning that Aftabjit Singh, 38, of no fixed address, had been arrested on weapons and disorderly conduct charges after witnesses led officers to him near the fountain at the center of a circle. Singh was stopped as he approached a brown paper bag containing a silver-colored imitation pistol, police said.
The incident ended the parade, officials said.