A melee at Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Saturday was another blow to a city that is struggling to pump up businesses at a time when many people won't venture into downtown, one top business leader said Tuesday.
Donald C. Fry, CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said the downtown business community and city officials should step up in the wake of an incident Saturday that saw hundreds of unruly youth gather in the early evening, a large police presence and six arrests. The incident took place as the summer tourist season opened on Memorial Day weekend. "This weekend's incident was unacceptable and regrettable," Fry said. Witnesses say some of the teenagers scattered across streets in a panic and some jumped on vehicles while others were engaged in fist fights. Baltimore Police Department responded and formed a line of officers along Lombard and Pratt streets to try to quell the chaos. The general manager of Harborplace ordered the indoor mall areas closed and locked down.
