OCEAN CITY, Md. -- Amid the holiday festivities were several dangerous incidents. The weekend began to unravel just after the sun went down on Friday night.
Around 9:30 p.m., a group of people fired what police tell WBOC was a roman candle firework into a massive crowd that packed the boardwalk. Nearly the entire crowd, believing the fireworks were gunshots, took of running.
In a video sent to WBOC, you can hear workers at a local bar yelling "inside, let's go, inside!" You can also here other people calling out for families members, and towards the end of the video, a worker, speaking to a woman on the boardwalk, said "shots fired apparently, so, we need everybody inside."
"I would tell you at this point, it's probably a miracle that we did not have any casualties," said Worcester County Sheriff Matt Crisafulli.
Shortly after the incident, the Ocean City Police Department dispelled rumors of shots fired on its Facebook page.
Just hours later though, a shooting did take place. According to OCPD, at approximately 1:04 a.m. on July 5, officers responded to reports of gunshots near 28th Street and Philadelphia Avenue.
A 22-year-old man from Cambridge, MD, was found with a gunshot wound to the arm. The victim is expected to recover but has been uncooperative with the investigation. OCPD's Major Crimes Unit is actively pursuing leads.
Other Notable Incidents:
- Robbery and Assault (12th St. & Philadelphia Ave)
- Fight between two groups of people escalated
- It lead to one teen displaying a handgun, another was assaulted and robbed, and a third juvenile was threatened with a knife
- Multiple Handgun Arrests
- July 4, 9:32 p.m. (3rd St.): A 16-year-old male was arrested after being found in possession of a loaded handgun.
- July 4, 10:21 p.m. (1st St.): A 17-year-old male was stopped and arrested with a concealed, loaded handgun.
- July 5, 2:26 a.m. (32nd St.): A 16-year-old male was arrested after officers observed a firearm in his waistband.
- Strong-Arm Robberies and Assault Reports
- July 5, 3:21 a.m.: A 21-year-old male reported being assaulted and robbed between 9th and 11th Streets. OCPD is continuing to investigate this incident.
- July 5: TidalHealth authorities notified OCPD that four individuals were treated for assaults linked to gatherings on the beach near 75th Street and at a nearby hotel. Two were uncooperative; the other two are expected to file reports.
- Motor Vehicle Collision – Pedestrian Struck
- At 12:25 a.m. on July 5, a person was hit by a car on Coastal Highway at 65th Street. The victim was flown to TidalHealth with injuries. The driver remained on scene. OCPD's Traffic Safety Unit is investigating the cause of the collision.
OCPD Police Chief Raymond Austin released the following statement:
"Our officers and allied agency partners worked around the clock to keep Ocean City safe during this hectic holiday weekend," said Chief Raymond Austin. "While we did respond to several serious incidents, the quick action of our officers, the support of our regional partners, and the vigilance of our community helped us manage these isolated incidents safely and efficiently. We remain committed to maintaining a strong, visible presence throughout the rest of the summer season."
The Ocean City Fire Department played a huge role in responding to these events as well. In fact, OCFD responded to more than 100 calls for service.
"July 4th is always one of our kind of all-hands weekends, so it's not unusual for it to be busy," said OCFD Chief Josh Bunting. "This year, I think, brought an extra level of call volume and kind of complexity to some of those calls, so it was definitely challenging, but one that our folks rose to the occasion."
As for why and how all of this happened, Mayor Rick Meehan likened it to the infamous H2Oi event, and said social media was, again, the catalyst.
"It's not something that we're going to tolerate in Ocean City," said Meehan. "We're going to look for ways that we can work around that and mitigate those type of situations in the future."