A suspect has been taken into custody after a shooting at the State Fair of Texas on Saturday night, October 14, that resulted in the injuries of three individuals and caused fear among the festival attendees.
State Fair Shooting
According to Dallas police, the incident occurred at around 7:45 PM local time at the Tower Building's food court. The police added that the three persons who were hurt were not in critical condition. One of the casualties is a maintenance worker at the fair who was hit in the arm.
The Dallas Morning News reported that at roughly the same time the State Fair announced on social media that Fair Park was being evacuated, police announced that they had taken a suspect into custody. Police claimed to have apprehended the shooter but did not reveal who it was.
Families trying to go back to their cars caused a traffic jam outside the fairgrounds. Under trees and on curbs, groups of stranded fairgoers waited for rides while brake lights and police sirens blared.
Adam Bazaldua, a member of the Dallas City Council whose district includes Fair Park, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had been informed on the matter by City Manager T.C. Broadnax. Bazaldua said that a fight between two acquaintances was what prompted the shooting, as Fox News reported.
Police said they had tracked down everyone involved and found a pistol at the site of the crime.
🔥🚨BREAKING: There is currently active shooter at the Texas State Fair. pic.twitter.com/KbyY1QXIhV
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) October 15, 2023
Nightmare for Visitors and Staff
Online footage captured the commotion that ensued as fairgoers scrambled for safety in the minutes after the gunshot. Dozens of people fled in terror from the area around the Midway.
Some parents yelled as they hurried around looking for their kids. Children in strollers were heard crying as adults marched outside the fairgrounds. Some people stopped to hide beneath rides, while others continued running.
Clara Bishop, 20, was carrying a friend's phone and luggage as they entered a UFO ride and began shouting at them to get off. Bishop had not gone to the fair like this since she was a kid. "I was on the verge of tears," she told the Dallas Morning News.
Office worker Johnna McKee, 63, was at The Dock restaurant when she heard gunfire coming from the Tower Building. She and the other employees promptly began securing the restaurant's entrances. "There's a calmness that comes across you. I had to keep my composure while telling everyone there was an active shooter and that we were going into lockdown," she said.
Juan Reaves, 52, was hurrying to his vehicle to get extra turkey legs for his Smokey John's Bar-B-Que restaurant when the panic broke out. He started getting texts from his workers, who were spread out among six different kiosks in the park. "It was a banner day. Sales were going great. But all of that came screeching to a halt."
