Over 50 people were injured during an evening New York City “pride” parade Sunday — thanks to a man armed with bear deterrent spray.
The “pride” event at NYC’s Washington Square Park fell into disarray when the man unleashed the spray into a crowd at 7:45 p.m., triggering a stampede, according to Gothamist.
“Officials said many of the revelers were left suffering from pain and redness to the face,” the NYC-based news source reported. One man, Dominick Sabater, was taken into custody.
That individual, who reportedly caused the stampede, can be seen in the clip below:
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language and imagery that may offend some readers.
NYC: PRIDE PARADE CHAOS: Bear spray unleashed at Washington Square Park during NYC Pride Celebrations, crowds rushed running with multiple injured.
Multiple arrests made as police cleared the area. Attendees were treated for injuries, coughing and struggling to breathe. pic.twitter.com/zMFRk6ICup
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 30, 2025
Sources told the New York Post that the suspect thought he was going to be jumped, so he panicked then fired off the spray in self-defense.
The Post, which reported that more than attendees were injured, confirmed that fears of a mass shooting also played a role in the stampede.
Would you ever attend an event like this?
“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,” Washington Heights resident Omari Loftin told the Post.
“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,” he added.
Loftin described seeing fellow attendees flushing out their eyes after the stampede. He also reportedly saw a young man with blood running down the side of his head.
🚨Breaking News🚨
Multiple people maced inside of Washington Square Park, including NYPD officers
For licensing email viralnewsnyc@gmail.com pic.twitter.com/84BKDDj3KX
— Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) June 30, 2025
Another local resident, Isaiah Whitehurst, also described thinking someone had opened fire with a gun.
“Everyone’s dancing, everyone’s partying, and then everyone’s screaming,” he told the Post. “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 … 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,” he added.
This was not the only incident to occur during the “pride” event. Later in the evening, two teen girls were injured during a shooting that occurred at the nearby Stonewall Inn, which the Post confirmed “was hosting ‘pride’ celebrations all day and long into the night.”
“Officers arrived at the scene to find a 16-year-old girl who had been shot in the head, and a 17-year-old girl who had been shot in the left leg,” Gothamist reported.
“First responders took the 16-year-old to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition, and the 17-year-old to Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital in stable condition,” the reporting continued.
A motive for the shooting was unknown.
total lawlessness in washington square park police unable or unwilling to do enforce selling weed, pills, and alcohol in public view pic.twitter.com/2AovOJMXFu
— BigJohnCogs (@BigJohnCogs) June 29, 2025
Besides stampedes and shootings, the event was also marked by an extreme level of degeneracy.
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