‘Commotion’ at White Marsh Mall carnival leads to shutdown by police: ‘It’s a crying shame’

On Monday afternoon, the carnival's website said, "Look for us in 2025."

A “commotion” over the weekend at a carnival held at White Marsh Mall led to three arrests, a police response of roughly 30 officers and the cancellation of future nights for the event, which was supposed to run through this Sunday.

The website for the carnival, hosted by Dreamland Amusements, said Monday that “due to the behavior of some individuals who chose to misbehave,” the company was forced to close the event.

“Despite taking measures such as our unaccompanied minor policy and a desire to provide a family event for the community that has been missing for several years, it seems some are determined to ruin the experience for everyone,” the statement said.

On Monday afternoon, the website for the event included a message that said, “Look for us in 2025.”

Baltimore County Police, which previously announced the three arrests related to the “carnival disturbance,” said Monday that “large pockets” of young people had “converged to the carnival” held in the parking lot of the mall by about 7:45 p.m. Saturday. The department estimated the total number of young people present was about 100. Within about a half-hour, the event was closed early and police were responding to groups in the area of the mall and parking lot.

Radio scanner traffic from Saturday night included an initial report from an officer at the carnival that there were “a lot of kids” and that “fights are breaking out.” That led to additional dispatched officers, and a subsequent report of a “commotion” by the Superman ride and the Scrambler, near the back of the carnival, in the 8200 block of Perry Hall Boulevard.

Shortly after, an officer on the scene said they were “rounding this group up, getting them out,” and added that he believed they were “just looking to cause trouble.”

The next hour or so of traffic included dispatches from the parking lot reporting some fights and traveling groups of people around different stores. At one point, officers requested a trespass warning be broadcast over the loudspeakers.

Shortly before 8 p.m., a report of shots fired at the mall was dispatched to officers, radio traffic showed. Baltimore County Police spokesman Trae Corbin said Monday that was determined to be a “false call.”

“Multiple officers were on scene, and none of the officers reported hearing the sound of gunfire,” Corbin wrote in an email.

Based on the events and the requirement of police intervention during the evening hours of April 6, 2024, the Dreamland Amusements Carnival being held at 8200 Perry Hall Blvd, Baltimore, Maryland 21236 has been cancelled in its entirety. Thank you for your cooperation.

— Baltimore County Police Department (@BaltCoPolice) April 7, 2024

In total, four young people were arrested at the mall Saturday, according to the police department. It said over the weekend that three arrests related to the carnival and a fourth arrest was connected to an unrelated theft. The agency said there were no injuries. The people arrested were not identified because they were under the age of 18.

The Saturday scene appears similar to other recent incidents where large gatherings of primarily young people draw a police response. In Baltimore last year, police monitored a crowd at the Inner Harbor of roughly 100 young people dancing, talking and riding scooters. That same month, two teenagers were shot in a large crowd about 25 feet from Baltimore Police officers, prompting the mayor to reimplement a summer youth curfew.

Baltimore teens have said the attention can make them feel unwelcome in public spaces.

A similar situation at the Towson Town Center in 2022 prompted county officials to deliver a warning: Feel free to visit, but you will be held accountable here if you break the law.

“We will not tolerate unlawful behavior of any kind in the Towson Town Center, in Towson, or in any Baltimore County community,” County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said in 2022.

At the time, he called the incident an “anomaly” but said he wouldn’t let it become “the norm.”

To try to keep young people safe, Baltimore City under Mayor Brandon Scott has attempted a non-police response. Under the plan, “youth engagement teams” made up of city staffers and members of community-based organizations do outreach on weekend nights, asking teens if they’re aware of the city’s curfew and if they have somewhere to go.

Baltimore County Police, meanwhile, deployed pepper spray at some of the young people in the area of the carnival Saturday, Corbin said Monday. He described it as an attempt “to disperse a large group who were actively assaulting another juvenile.”

According to Corbin, the department knew the event would be taking place and had a staffing plan in place. The event included off-duty officers, as well as a security company, he said. Fencing also surrounded the carnival, which cost $5 for admission.

The website for the carnival, which was run by Dreamland Amusements, said guests 20 years old and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is 21 or older during all hours of the carnival, and that adults needed to be prepared to show identification or face removal from the carnival.

It warned people buying tickets through the site that they should not buy tickets “if you plan on dropping off your children,” adding that “you must accompany children under 21 years old.”

“Thank you for understanding the world we now live in,” it said.

White Marsh Mall itself adopted a curfew for teens in 2019 that requires them to be accompanied by an adult on weekend evenings, after calls from some members of Baltimore County Council.

On Facebook, Councilman David Marks, who represents the area, said his office and many residents “were concerned” about the event, adding Saturday that it was clear “White Marsh Mall should never again allow an event like this on its grounds.” That post relayed information from Baltimore County Police’s White Marsh precinct that there were “a large number of juveniles at the carnival,” and that there were air and K-9 units responding to “keep the incident under control.”

Marks posted Sunday the county police department’s news release and added that “early on, our office had expressed concern for security here and requested extra measures should this proceed.”

“Last night’s incident cannot be repeated,” Marks wrote. “Those who would easily dismiss this incident should consider not just the safety of all involved, but the impact on those businesses and patrons at The Avenue and the mall.”

Marks did not return a voicemail left Monday. Attempts to reach The Avenue at White Marsh shopping mall and White Marsh Mall were not successful.

The leader of the White Marsh Police & Community Relations Council, which sponsored the carnival, expressed disappointment in how some of the carnival attendees had behaved and in the event shutting down.

“It’s a crying shame,” said Graceann Rehbein, who also serves as president of the board of directors for the county’s Police & Community Relations Council, or PCRC. “You try to do something for families and people create havoc. I just don’t get it.”

Rehbein said she was not present Saturday but had been informed it was canceled. The local PCRC sponsored the event but was not involved in getting any permits, she said. The carnival had been an annual event for some time before a recent break; this year was to be its return, she said.

“I can’t blame the carnival, it’s not the carnival’s fault,” Rehbein added. “It’s sad. Families can’t go out and do anything. You try to do things in the community, and bring people together, and here you have it.”