Witnesses report hearing gunshots at a theme park’s Fall Fest in Pennsylvania, prompting the state’s police to respond to a “mass casualty event”
After reports of gunshots being heard in the surrounding neighborhood on Saturday evening, a significant number of law enforcement officers have arrived at Kennywood Park, an amusement park that is situated in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. A “mass casualty event” has been labeled as the potential shooting that took place.
Multiple sources say that Pennsylvania police and emergency vehicles from a number of different agencies went to the scene to rescue and treat people who were still stuck in the park.
“There is a confirmed incident at Kennywood with injuries reported. My thoughts go out to the victims of physical and mental injuries,” Pennsylvania state representative Nick Pisciottano tweeted.
There is not enough information right now to know how many people were hurt or how bad their injuries were.
Many people were laying on the ground, according to witnesses, but it is unclear whether or not they had been shot.
“There is no denying what I heard,” a witness said, confirming she heard gunshots.
The incident took place at 10:45 p.m., just a few minutes before the park was scheduled to lock its gates for the night.
Kennywood released a statement following the incident, saying, “The park is closed for the night and all guests have exited. We are aware of a situation that occurred this evening and are working with local law enforcement,” the park said. “The safety of our guests and Team Members are our top priority. Members of the park’s security, Allegheny County, and West Mifflin police departments were already on site and immediately responded.”
This weekend marked the beginning of Kennywood’s iconic October event, the Phantom Fall Fest, which is a Halloween celebration for both children and adults. As a result, the park was especially busy on Saturday evening.
A witness has said that they first believed the sound of the gunshots to be “a prop” that was being used in the haunted home.
