District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua is calling on State Fair of Texas officials to “revisit their firearm policy.” That’s according to letter he sent Friday afternoon.
Bazaldua wrote to fair officials that he is concerned about the current firearm policy — and he said officials need to reconsider the current policy and “implement a restriction of firearms regardless of a permit to carry.”
“I strongly believe that the presence of firearms poses a significant risk to the safety of fairgoers and the community,” Bazaldua said in his letter. “I understand and respect the rights of individuals to bear arms, I firmly believe that there are appropriate places and occasions for exercising those rights.”
Bazaldua said the State Fair is not one of those places.
“It is in the best interest of the State Fair of Texas and the City of Dallas to do everything we can to take the necessary steps to protect the public,” his letter stated.
Karissa Condoianis, senior vice president for public relations at the State Fair of Texas, told KERA that the organization reviews policies at the end of every season.
"Everything is on the table during these discussions, including the Fair's polices around guest code of conduct and what is or isn't allowed into the fairgrounds," Condoianis said. "Our goal is to create the best experience possible."
Kjersten Funk was at the fair the night of the shooting.
“It was like a sea of people running so we tried to go out the front — but cops were yelling to turn around and hide and over the intercom," Funk told KERA. "They kept announcing that there was an active shooter and to hide in place and stay out of his line of sight.”
Theresa Creevy was at the State Fair that night too with her husband, two daughters and mother. They were walking out of one of the exhibition halls near the midway when they saw people running toward them. Some of them yelled there was a shooter and that they should hide.
“Everyone’s running and there was no alarm, no sound from the police, nothing over the intercom. Nothing,” Creevy said. “It was just a rush of people.”
Dallas Police Department officials said that three people were shot during the incident. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Bazaldua said the shooting started as a conflict between two people who knew each other.
Current State Fair policy prohibits all weapons on fairgrounds, however concealed carry is allowed with a license to carry.
"While the incident that occurred on October 14...did not involve a fairgoer who had a legal License to Carry, I can assure you that management...has and will continue to have in-depth discussions on this topic," Condoianis said.
Bazaldua says having firearms around large groups of people introduces “an unnecessary element of danger.” In 2022, there were more than 48,0000 firearm-related deaths across the country, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The safety and well-being of our residents should always be a top priority for our city,” Bazaldua said in his statement. “I look forward to another successful and safe State Fair in 2024.”
Stella Chavez and Megan Cardona contributed to this article.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.
