BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — The Towson Chamber of Commerce is warning people against causing disturbances in the community after hundreds of people gathered in a parking lot last week, prompting police to arrest two college-aged men and a nearby business to close for the evening.
Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, said in a video posted to Facebook “if you want to come here and act like a fool, our police will arrest you.”
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The gathering happened on August 26 in a parking lot off Allegheny Avenue as students returned to campus.
Police were seen escorting people away from the area. According to Baltimore County Police, two college-aged men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
John Bollinger, a Towson resident, said the crowds filled multiple parking lots.
“Each parking lot was filled to the brim,” Bollinger said.
A woman FOX45 News spoke to Tuesday said a friend who was in the area had difficulty getting through the crowd and had to ask people to move away from his vehicle.
You never know what’s going on at a big crowd like that,” she said.
Silks Sports Bar, located across from the parking lot, was also affected by the gathering. The business said people pushed into the establishment and broke a door, forcing it to close for the evening out of concern for employees and customers.
Hafford said the gathering had been promoted on social media by two men, but police were already aware of the event.
She said police responded quickly and cleared hundreds of people from the area within about an hour.
“They deployed everybody here and within one hour all those hundreds of people were moved out of our community,” Hafford said.
The incident comes as Towson continues to deal with concerns about public safety in the community.
In recent months, businesses have closed in Towson Town Center, while a deadly shooting in broad daylight near the Towson Circle has also raised concerns among residents and business owners.
Hafford said improving security around the mall and surrounding areas has been a priority for the Chamber for years.
She said the Chamber received grants from Baltimore County and the state of Maryland to increase security cameras and lighting as well as hire security guards.
“We had a very egregious incident happen back in about 2024. We’re very thankful that we got grants from the county and also from the state of Maryland to beef up security cameras in the area and to beef up lighting in the area, and to hire security guards. So this is something we’ve been paying close attention to for a long time,” Hafford said.
Hafford adds she would be surprised if another crowd incident of the same size happened as the university begins the school year, citing how quickly police were able to disperse the crowd last week.
The Chamber said businesses in the area will continue working with police and using security cameras to address potential disturbances.
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