BALTIMORE — A Baltimore neighborhood is celebrating the LBGTQ+ community and denouncing a recent hate crime.
This comes on the heels of a man caught on camera stealing and burning mini pride flags earlier this month.
Video captured a man dressed in all black targeting two homes in the Federal Hill and Locust Point communities, lighting Pride flags on fire.
"We really feel like you’ve picked the wrong neighborhood to mess with," Baltimore resident Melanie Kabia said. "We’re going to give the love right back."
“Hopefully we’re going to give away 300 flags today.”
— Dave Detling (@WMARDave) May 17, 2022
Love For All event happening now outside Ice Queens in Locust Point.
Community members are combating hate one Pride flag at a time.
Earlier this month an unidentified man lit 2 LGBTQ+ flags on fire. @WMAR2News pic.twitter.com/ehiHvtq4Hc
MORE: Man seen torching two LGBTQ+ Pride flags, police now investigating
In light the the crimes, concerned community members got together, brainstormed and ordered more than 100 Pride flags to hand out.
Tuesday’s “Love For All” event was an effort to show support and solidarity to the LGBTQ+ community.
Organizers said the goal was to display the flags in planters and on sidewalks to show inclusivity and denounce the hateful act.
"We do wanna look out for each other," co-organizer Theresa Ridgley said. "I think that when someone crosses that line you will very easily see that we all band together against anything that is targeted in a hateful way against somebody in our community."
A community member bought more than 100 mini pride flags to hand out in the Locust Point neighborhood.
The mini pride flags were given away with a purchase of a snoball from Ice Queens Snoball Shop, with proceeds going toward the Pride Center of Maryland. Queens Snoball made its signature Pride rainbow snoball.
Organizers said more than 300 Pride flags will be placed along Baltimore communities.
"I have a plant out front of my house, I’m gonna put it in there," Baltimore resident Ellen Egger said. "We also have a big flag that I’m going to hang from our normal flagpole."
