Report: NYC Food Vendor Attacked amid Clash with Police at Washington Square Park

New York City’s Pride celebrations reportedly turned violent Sunday after an attack on a food vendor and altercations with police caused them to use pepper spray to control a crowd.

“An elderly hot dog seller in the city’s embattled Washington Square Park had a busted lip, bloody nose and was seen bleeding from his head after being punched in the face several times by a woman,” according to the Daily Mail.

He was standing beside his food cart when he was allegedly punched in the head and almost knocked off his feet, the outlet continued:

As he attempted to flee, a group chased him before he finally fell onto the street where police ran to his aid. A woman yelled at him accusing him of using a slur. People then tended to him in the street following the beating late on Sunday night.

Earlier in the evening, several people were arrested as simmering tensions between Pride-goers and the police suddenly boiled over. NYPD officers used pepper spray on Pride attendees who were in the Greenwich Village park early on Sunday evening after revelers got angry with how police responded to a break in the metal barricades surrounding the popular park.

Reporter Christine Chung shared video footage of the crowd in what appeared to be earlier in the day, writing, “NYPD threatening to arrest one for unlawfully blocking sidewalk”:

In a subsequent video, Chung said there was “talk of mace” at Washington Square Park:

In May, NYC Pride announced it was taking steps to reduce police presence at events.

“In its statement, NYC Pride explained the organization ‘seeks to create safer spaces for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities at a time when violence against marginalized groups, specifically BIPOC and trans communities, has continued to escalate,'” Breitbart News reported.

Meanwhile, residents in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood have begged police to stop the nightly takeover of Washington Square Park where partiers gather nightly to sell drugs, have sex, and commit crimes, according to Breitbart News.

“The criminality has extended to our quaint street,” a woman said during a meeting with police. “From lewd acts to nudity to drugs, crack being smoked on our street, our children have witnessed people shooting up.”