9 hours ago
Dupont Circle Park reopens after WorldPride weekend violence
WASHINGTON () — Dupont Circle Park reopened early Sunday night as it remained closed following during WorldPride weekend.
'It's disappointing,' Raven Lee of Rockville, Md., said.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said two boys were stabbed around 7 p.m. because they got into a fight. MPD said the boys were being treated at the hospital while investigators continue to search for two suspects.
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Lee said she had left the park before the stabbing incident took place and later came back to see police tape all around the park.
'I feel like this would be a very happy and just joyous time for people to celebrate like who they are, and who they love,' Lee said. 'I just saw the caution tape, the cops, everyone gone.'
Nearly an hour after the stabbing, police responded to a shooting nearby on the 19th St. NW entrance to the Metrorail station. A man had been shot in the foot.
'I think it's always sad to see, like, a violence at an event that's all about love and inclusion,' Sam Wheeler, of Springfield, Va., said.
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The violence is just the latest incident at the park during Pride Weekend. Last year, the park was trashed and vandalized, causing $175,000 worth of damage to the fountain in 2023. A fence remains around it.
The National Park Service and the Mayor's Office announced Saturday the park would reopen for WorldPride Weekend, after NPS originally decided to close the park for safety reasons.
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