Reports of a man with a gun sent panic through the crowd at the Capital Pride Parade in D.C. Saturday. Police arrested a suspect at the scene, and found a BB gun in his bag.
On Sunday, D.C. police identified the suspect as Aftabjit Singh, 38, who now faces multiple charges, including possession of a BB gun, carrying a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
Around 7:20 p.m. Saturday, police officers responded to a report of a man with a gun in Dupont Circle.
According to an arrest report, an officer saw parade-goers running away and followed reports of a man with a gun in the park, near the Dupont Memorial Fountain. As he got to the south side of the park, a citizen pointed out a man and said he had a gun in his bag.
The officer stopped the suspect and looked inside the bag, which he said was partially open. The officer reported seeing the body and trigger of a silver handgun.
The suspect told the officer that it was a BB gun, and that he had pointed it at someone who had been hitting his significant other.
While being placed under arrest, the suspect said “I’ll be back. I’ll shoot that m—– f—–,” according to the arrest report.
Seven people were taken to local hospitals after being injured while trying to run away from the scene. D.C. Fire and EMS also treated several other individuals for minor injures at the scene.
On their Facebook page, Capital Pride Alliance announced that all activities scheduled for Sunday would go on as planned.
In a news release, D.C. police said they were working closely with event organizers to increase safety during the remaining weekend events.
WTOP’s H.J. Mai contributed to this report.
