An outdoor showing of “Jurassic Park” at Alethia Tanner Park in Northeast on Wednesday was canceled after teens set off fireworks aimed at the audience.
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Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5F Chair Joe Bishop-Henchman said on social media that six teens threw the fireworks into the crowd watching the movie, part of a series of weekly showings at the park.
The crowd panicked, and at least one person’s blanket caught fire, Mr. Bishop-Henchman said, injuring their foot.
Witness Joshua G. told Maryland’s WDVM-TV that the fireworks started going off 30 minutes into the movie and that, after a brief pause and restart of the film, the teens set off additional fireworks.
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Another witness and event attendee, Freddie Montgomery, told Washington’s WJLA-TV that “it just turned into a really scary frenzy, where everyone just started getting up and running; families, people with dogs, kids were all just kind of in panic.”
D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker, Ward 5 Democrat, wrote on social media that it was a “horrific incident. … Creating chaos, panic, and injury in our communities is unacceptable, and I remain committed to supporting District agencies in keeping Ward 5 neighborhoods safe and holding last night’s perpetrators accountable.”
The Metropolitan Police Department told WJLA-TV that an investigation is underway.
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