Chaotic Pop-Up Block Parties Disrupt North Baltimore Neighborhood
By Annie Rose Ramos
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — City Police are investigating numerous complaints of teen pop-up parties in North Baltimore, some drawing more than 300 people.
The parties are taking place along Greenmount Avenue, starting at Mund Park but overflowing into nearby streets.
One woman videotaping from her stoop on East 23rd Street said “we’ve got groups of people and they’re not moving and they don’t live here,” said the woman in the video, “this has got to stop.”
Police said these unpermitted parties at Mund Park are posted on social media and by the time officers arrived to disperse the crowds, there were already hundreds flooding into the street.
“The park was swarmed,” said Janice Clayton who lives nearby, “it was unbelievable.”
Neighbors want to see the parties shut down before they even begin.
“You don’t allow them to happen, they don’t have a permit, you don’t allow it,” said the woman in the video. Because even after police arrived, they say the teens never left.
“It was like hell, we got no sleep, they were out here on people’s cars, they were throwing up on my front,” Clayton described.
In a statement to WJZ, Baltimore Police said: “as officers responded to close down the event, several fights broke out among the young people. Officers arrested a juvenile and also recovered two handguns on the scene while closing down the event. Medics were called to the scene to assist possible injured individuals.”
According to residents, the parties started on the weekend of July 4th and now, Clayton is thinking about leaving the neighborhood, “I wanna move from out here, it’s not safe… there’s no respect.”
Police say they’re working with the community and additional city agencies to address ongoing concerns about these parties and the use of the park for unpermitted events.
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