Red River Ex organizer says security will be heightened next year after shooting
Posted June 26, 2022 2:42 pm.
Organizers with the Red River Ex confirmed they are planning to ramp up security for next year’s event following a shooting involving teenagers last week.
BACKGROUND: Three teenagers arrested after shooting of carnival employee at Red River Exhibition: WPS
Three teens were charged in connection with a shooting at the Red River Exhibition on June 20.
A 16-year-old carnival employee and an 11-year-old boy were hospitalized.
Red River Ex CEO Garth Rogerson says the shooting will lead to heightened security next year.
“I think one of the soft spots is our fence line,” he said. “That’s an area of challenge for us that we’re continuing to work on, and we’ve really beefed up the patrols and sentries that are watching those fence lines to make sure nothing goes over the fence.”
READ MORE: 11-year-old boy second victim in Exhibition Park shooting
Rogerson says the event faced some additional challenges in terms of extreme heat last weekend and a downpour on Friday, but he said overall it was a successful return following a two-year break due to COVID-19.
“This is a very, very safe place and we’re going to continue to take away lessons from what happened this year and make sure it’s even tighter going forward,” said Rogerson.
“This is a very unfortunate incident, but what happened after that worked perfectly.”
Rogerson says the event saw an increase in the number of patrons coming out – 34 per cent overall by Thursday.
Red River Ex ends Sunday.
“We’re hoping for some big numbers to finish off strong.”
