Following the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, law enforcement activity will change at next year’s Country Fan Fest, according to Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer.
A gunman, later identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, opened fire on a music festival across from the Mandalay Bay, killing 58 people and injuring 546 before taking his own life.
Wimmer said he hasn’t received a request to change law enforcement practices at Country Fan Fest, but felt it was important in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shootings.
“I don’t think there’s a law enforcement professional that just doesn’t recognize the vulnerability of a mass gathering,” Wimmer said.
At next year’s country music festival, Wimmer said the sheriff’s office will have its armored vehicle closer to the venue. The vehicle, a Cadillac Peacekeeper, was acquired through a federal surplus program. It can withstand 7.62 mm ammunition and carry up to eight personnel.
“I want to have that in a little more strategic area for a quicker deployment in the event an event like this was to break out,” Wimmer said.
An early lesson from Vegas is for law enforcement to more critically check elevated positions. Wimmer said deputies would check rooftops as part of security at the event but it will now be a point of emphasis, with nearby rooftops routinely cleared.
Wimmer said he plans to borrow armored observation towers from Dugway Proving Ground for the next Country Fan Fest, which will give law enforcement an elevated position with benefits beyond looking for a potential mass shooter.
“It helps us identify fights that are brewing or occurring and directing officers on the ground to them,” he said.
While law enforcement capabilities will be increased at Country Fan Fest, entry to the event will still be handled by hired security, which does a good job, according to Wimmer.
“Normally speaking, the organizers of the event have every interest to make it a successful, peaceful event,” he said. “People don’t want to go to an unruly event. They want to go to a place they can safely listen to music.”
Wimmer said law enforcement is eager to get information from the investigation into the Las Vegas shooting and the lessons learned. The law enforcement community similarly learned more about mass shootings following the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016, where 49 people were killed and 58 were wounded.
Wimmer said large gatherings, like the lantern festivals at Utah Motorsports Campus, are peaceful events that could still be a target for radicalized individuals. He said deputies have received training on radicalization, including a video, “A Revolutionary Act,” which discusses the 2014 ambush and death of two Las Vegas police officers in June 2014 by a couple with extreme anti-government views.