51ºÚÁÏ

ST. LOUIS — A day after an impromptu Pride celebration in the Grove district spiraled into violence, a police spokesperson placed the blame on the shoulders of local business leaders.

But those leaders say the violence wasn’t their responsibility, either, because the attendees showed up for a party they weren’t even hosting.

“All of the bar owners know that this is a major crowd that comes out for Pride, and someone’s going to have to take responsibility for it,� said Mitch McCoy, a police spokesperson at a news conference Monday. “The police can’t.�

Grove leaders should have anticipated a large crowd and preemptively hosted an organized, permitted event to avoid chaos, McCoy said. Getting a city permit means police are involved in planning, he said.

But Kelly Spencer, an executive committee member of the Grove Community Improvement District, said they had warned police in advance that the situation could get unruly with large crowds. The district shouldn’t be held responsible for the violence, they said, because the party in the street wasn’t theirs.

“I don’t understand why Mitch McCoy is coming down on (us) when all we tried to do was work with them,� Spencer said. “We didn’t get a permit because we didn’t have an event.�

Violence erupted along Manchester Avenue about 1 a.m. Sunday as a large crowd congregated in the street. The situation quickly spiraled, police say, and ended in multiple fights, with two women shot and multiple officers injured.

The gathering was a Pride celebration but wasn’t connected to the official Pridefest downtown, police said. The Grove is known for its inclusive bars, businesses and culture.

Multiple bars and restaurants along Manchester Avenue hosted their own Pride parties instead, even hiring extra security to keep control of patrons, said police and Jon Shine, the vice president of the Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. in the Grove.

About 1:30 a.m., several people got into a fight during celebrations. A 34-year-old woman then shot another woman in the leg, whose friend, 22, then returned fire and hit the 34-year-old in the back.

More fights continued throughout the day Sunday. At one point, McCoy said, a 19-year-old with a rifle “climbed� on the back of an officer, while another person shot fireworks into the crowd.

Police ordered the party to disperse about 10 p.m. and arrested four people.

A similar party was hosted last year in the Grove, McCoy said, but that one had permits and was overseen by the Grove Community Improvement District, allowing police to check visitors for weapons and set up crowd control barriers.

This year, no large event was planned. But people showed up anyway.

McCoy said that if local leaders had hosted a permitted event this year, like they did last year, police would’ve had more options to try to head off the chaos.

“That’s not fair,� Shine said “I think everybody — police, businesses, local government — need to work together to come up with solutions, not worry about blaming someone else.�

Police themselves expected a crowd and kept parked vehicles off Manchester Avenue beginning Friday, McCoy said.

But it isn’t the responsibility of police to proactively try to prevent violence if there isn’t a permitted event, McCoy said. The only alternative is officers taking it upon themselves to search attendees anyway, which McCoy said the department couldn’t do without cause.

“The problem is that no one wants to step up on Manchester Avenue — knowing that thousands and thousands and thousands of people may be down there — to make sure everyone is safe,� McCoy said. “And we as a police department cannot take on that responsibility of organizing an event.�

Still, Spencer thinks police did the best they could to keep control of the crowd. Outside of hosting a formal event, the only thing her group could’ve done to prevent chaos was preemptively close the streets, she said.

“We want to celebrate our community, and it’s hard to do when your streets are shut down,� she said.