BALTIMORE — Two teenage girls were thrown through a glass storefront after losing control of a Lime scooter outside a cinnamon roll shop on the first day of classes for Baltimore City Public Schools, according to surveillance video and police.
The crash happened Monday afternoon at Cinnaholic inside The Rotunda, a shopping and residential complex on West 40th Street in the Hampden neighborhood. Security footage from inside the store shows the girls slamming into the glass, shattering it, and landing on the floor amid debris as a customer nearby moves toward them.
Police said the girls lost control of the scooter and struck the door accidentally. Officers described the damage as not vandalism.
The incident was one of several disruptions that afternoon. Officers were called after a large crowd of students gathered at the plaza following school. Authorities said hundreds of young people were on the property. Students told local reporters a social media post had encouraged people to meet there after the first day of school.
While police were on scene, two separate scooter-related crashes occurred. One sent the girls through the Cinnaholic window. In another, electric bikes struck a vehicle in a nearby parking lot. Officers also broke up a fight involving several female students. Police later said two of those involved were family members with an existing dispute.
Three juveniles were taken into custody and released to a parent or guardian. Baltimore Police declined to label the event a “teen takeover,” instead calling it a “large gathering of youth.” Officials said they had no advance warning of a planned meetup.
Cinnaholic was closed for about a week after the front glass was destroyed. The Baltimore City Health Department also shut the location due to the damaged door.
A resident who recorded activity from a balcony said the scene left people uneasy. “It’s concerning because this has always been a safe place,” she said. “I’m nervous here. It does leave you feeling a little bit uneasy.”
Property management requested that police escort students and some customers off the site. Private security and city school police were also involved.
The Rotunda incident is the latest example of large after-school gatherings that have drawn police in cities around the country. In this case, police emphasized that the window crash itself was accidental even as they acknowledged fights, property damage, and a crowd large enough to require a police response on the first day of the school year.
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