DC police are investigating a stab wound incident inside Dupont Circle Park on Saturday evening, June 7th. There, two boys were injured about 12 hours after U.S. Park Service workers removed the fence that closed the park.
Park Service officials initially said they decided to close Dupont Circle Park over the final weekend of World Pride 2025 DC, due to concerns over the potential for property and violence destruction. They cited incidents of vandalism and violence that occurred in the park over the past few years of previous capital Pride weekends.
Officials from the Capital Pride Alliance say that the destruction of property and reported violence are not related to pride events.
The Capital Pride Alliance hosts most of DC’s annual LGBTQ Pride events and is the lead organizer for WorldPride 2025.
Around 5am on Saturday, June 7th, Park Service workers began removing the fencing they had placed in order to close Dupont Circle Park a day ago and reopen the park.
Some time on Saturday, the National Park Service and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a joint statement that it was decided that the park would be reopened after strongly objecting to the closing by nearby community leaders, including at least two gay advised neighborhood commissioners.
“We are pleased to be able to work together overnight in solutions that protect the park’s historic features, while ensuring that everyone enjoys it, is safe,” the statement said. “We want to be a safe and fun celebration in our country’s capital this weekend, and include Dupont Circle, one of our best parks and community spaces in our city,” he says.
A DC police spokesperson said it has issued the statement, although a more detailed case report has not yet been filled out, in response to a request from the Washington Blade for information on the stinging incident.
“A stab wound occurred at Dupont Circle Park during a fight between the group of boys at 7:02 pm. Two boys were taken to the Consciousness and Breathing Regional Hospital.”
Spokesman and public relations specialist Freddie Talbert is included in his statement about an unrelated shooting that took place shortly afterwards, just outside DuPont Circle Park.
“At 7:52pm, a shooting occurred in the 1300 block of 19 after an MPD officer cleared Dupont Circle Park.th NW Street is just south of the circle. One adult man was consciously carried, wrapped around a bullet and breathed. ”
No further information was provided and Talbert did not immediately answer follow-up questions from the blade. Police investigators asked if they knew whether the victims and perpetrators of the two cases were somehow involved in the global growth event.
At the time of the stab and fire, the World Pride Parade was nearing its end.th The first day of the two-day World Pride Festival from T Street to Pennsylvania Avenue and New Want, also took place at Pennsylvania Avenue, New Jersey, from the age of nine.th 3 from the streetrd NW Street
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
