i could barely sleep last night because i was so shaken up about what happened last night at dc pride. there were just rumors of a shooting / gunshots but in the moment, i completely thought there was a shooter.
me and my friend had left dupont circle and were walking down p street when everyone started running and we ran too since that’s what everyone was doing. tbh the only thing i could think of was that there was a shooter, it didnt seem like there was anything else to run from. we ran into an alley behind a restaurant and people were telling us they heard gunshots. for a few minutes it seemed calm enough but then another wave of people came running into the alley and i didnt know what was happening but just thought there was a shooter like right on the main street
i crawled under the porch of the restaurant and ended up falling underneath to this cellar part which was safer since it was under the ground level. some lady literally passed her babies down to us because she thought it was safer so i were holding this crying baby trying to shush her because i was scared if the shooter heard us they would you know... kill us. that was the most scared i’d ever been in my entire life- holding this baby trying to shush her thinking i was going to die and thinking so much that i didn’t want to die so badly and that i hadn’t lived long enough to die in the cellar under some fucking restaurant.
but then the back door of the restaurant opened and we all like FLEW inside scrambling and running to get in to safety (the baby was ok btw). me and my friend just sat on the floor of the restaurant behind the counter crying and sobbing. i couldnt get through to my family and i was just so fucking scared.
after maybe 15 min of being in the restaurant, some lady told us we should move south because the streets were all blocked around us and we could get a ride or the metro so we started walking south but after a few blocks of walking everyone started RUNNING again and this time it was more residential so me and my friend ran into these trees and crouched there for a while. then we walked further south and waited for my friend’s parents to come get us by some cop cars so we felt safer.
it was so so so scary and even though there wasn’t a shooter i was still so SCARED. we shouldn’t panic and stampede at the mention of a gun and especially at pride, a place where people should be safe and happy to be alive. last night really really changed things for me and i guess i’m... grateful? really grateful that i’m alive. i shared some moving experiences with strangers in that restaurant. i’m so glad that no one was killed or seriously injured but man... i really hope things in this country change for the better. i don’t want to ever be scared going to pride. i don’t ever want to feel like that again.