20 arrested at mall in disturbance after Dundalk MD carnival closes
DUNDALK, Md. April 23 2019
Twenty people were arrested Sunday night in a disturbance around Eastpoint Mall after a carnival in the parking lot closed, Baltimore County police said.
Baltimore County police Cpl. Shawn Vinson said about 1,000 people were there when carnival officials decided to close. Vinson said police received calls from mall security and several 911 calls as people started to gather in the area and several fights broke out around 6 p.m.
“Security called police to the scene when they realized they were overwhelmed,” Vinson said.
Officials said officers were forced to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Police said 20 people were arrested. A majority were for disorderly conduct.
Vinson said the MTA brought buses to the area to help get people to leave the area.
The scene was clear by 10 p.m.
County police said they had a plan in place in case something like this happened.
“We did have plans in place. We executed those plans and were able to bring the situation, deescalate it every quickly. So we think that our planning was effective. We were able to work with the mall owner on this. We’ll continue to be aware. We don’t want to shut down any kind of events, but we want to be able to work with them and be prepared,” Vinson said.
Three weeks ago, officers were called to that same mall for another large fight following a March madness party. Nine people were arrested during that fight.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski issued a statement, saying, “Everyone deserves to be and feel safe in Baltimore County. The recent event at Eastpoint Mall, the second in just a few weeks, is completely unacceptable. While many young people in our communities are doing the right thing, anyone who gathers to fight or cause a disturbance will be held accountable. I want to thank members of the Baltimore County Police Department and other law enforcement officials who quickly got the situation under control. My team will be meeting with county police, mall management and security, and other stakeholders to develop a long-term solution to this situation.”
