Police tracked a crowd of up to 200 people through Los Angeles as officers also investigated two reported stabbings near Crenshaw.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles Police Department issued a citywide tactical alert Saturday as officers responded to a crowd of as many as 200 people moving through parts of the city, while authorities separately investigated two reported stabbings near the Taste of Soul festival in the Crenshaw area.
Details about the crowd remained limited Saturday night. Police described the group as unruly but did not immediately specify what conduct led to that description. Aerial footage showed people scattering and running through a McDonald’s parking lot in Leimert Park at about 6:40 p.m. Lines of officers in tactical gear were also seen working to disperse the group.
Police said a call involving a large group was received at about 5:34 p.m. near Crenshaw Boulevard and Stocker Street in Leimert Park. Authorities had not established whether that gathering was connected to the Taste of Soul festival or to another demonstration held in downtown Los Angeles earlier in the day.
The police response came after two reported stabbings near the Crenshaw-area festival. The first was reported at about 2:45 p.m. near Crenshaw Boulevard and West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Police said a group became involved in a fight for reasons that remained unclear and at least one person was stabbed.
Authorities said the victim and the group of suspected assailants left the scene. Police had not announced an arrest or released further information about the circumstances of that confrontation as of Saturday night.
A second possible stabbing was reported later near the event. The Los Angeles Fire Department said one person was taken to a hospital after officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 4200 block of Crenshaw Boulevard. Authorities had not said whether the two incidents were connected or released the condition of the hospitalized person.
Taste of Soul organizers said the police activity occurred outside the festival grounds and did not interrupt the event. The annual festival on Crenshaw Boulevard drew thousands of people for food, entertainment and programming celebrating Black culture and history in Los Angeles. Organizers said the event ended as planned at 7 p.m.
Hundreds of people also gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday for a “No Kings” demonstration focused in part on voter participation ahead of the midterm elections. Police said they had not determined whether the crowd that prompted the tactical alert was connected to that gathering or to the Taste of Soul festival.
The citywide tactical alert remained in effect Saturday evening as officers monitored the crowd and investigators worked to determine what happened in the two stabbing cases. Police had not immediately released additional information about arrests related to the crowd or explained what prompted the group to move through the area.
Author note: Last updated October 18, 2026.