Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief

mvk5945@psu.edu 

Photo Credits: Pennlive.com

Kennywood Park, a beloved family amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, experienced a horrifying event during its Phantom Fall Fest opening weekend, leaving three people injured by gunshot wounds, including two juveniles. 

Kennywood has been hosting a Halloween attraction for years that was previously known as Phantom Fright Nights, but the park has recently been rebranding the event to be a more inclusive family outing, with the park open longer hours during the day with more kid-friendly attractions before converting to its typical horror attraction at night. The Kennywood website describes it as the park’s “signature spooky-season event.” 

The event description on their website reads, “Come early for family-friendly fun, including festive food and a unique autumn atmosphere. PLUS, enjoy your favorite coasters and rides during the day! Then, when the sun goes down, the Phantom takes screams to the extreme with seven haunted houses and four scare zones.” However, during this opening weekend, guests faced fear entirely unrelated to the haunted attractions. 

Saturday, September 24, was the opening event, and it was exceptionally busy as a special promotion for season pass holders was occurring. Police issued a statement Saturday night that three people were shot around 10:49 p.m. inside the park after an altercation broke out between two groups of juveniles in front of the Music Express. Someone then pulled out a gun, firing two shots that injured two 15-year-old children and a 39-year-old man. 

As of Sunday, the Allegheny County Police would not identify the gunshot wound victims and had not yet apprehended the shooter. Paramedics transported one of the 15-year-olds to a children’s hospital, and they were in stable condition Sunday morning. The 39-year-old man was also transported to the hospital, treated, and released later that night. 

The second 15-year-old teen who was shot left the park that night without being treated. Police described his wound as a “grazing” wound, and he was taken to the hospital for treatment later that night by a relative. He is also in stable condition, according to the police. 

KDKA-TV reported that police are currently investigating the incident by using Kennywood’s security cameras, as well as eyewitness testimony. Those who were there that night and may have seen something are encouraged to reach out with the information. Many people have reported that Kennywood security was at varying levels of intensity throughout the night, with some people stating they were fully scanned and searched, while others recount security being overwhelmed and allowing people to enter the park without being searched, especially later in the evening. 

The park was scheduled to close that night at 11:00 p.m., shortly before the shots were fired. Park security officers and West Mifflin police were the first on the scene, followed by county police officers. Some of these officers were already located in Kennywood for the event, allowing them to respond promptly.  Swarms of people rushed towards the exit after hearing the shots fired, creating chaos throughout the park and parking lots and resulting in several people receiving some minor injuries from the rushed crowd. 

Pittsburgh Public Safety issued a tweet Sunday at 12:02 a.m. that stated city officers “are assisting with the report of shots fired at Kennywood.” Many local police departments met together at the park Saturday night and were still present most of Sunday to investigate the incident. 

The shooting was classified as a “Mass Casualty Incident”; however, despite what many people reasonably assumed, no casualties occurred at Kennywood Park. A Mass casualty incident is used to describe situations in which a community’s local resources, such as paramedics and police force, are overstretched and require support. 

On Sunday morning, Kennywood officials issued a brief statement via Twitter 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 tweet continued, “The safety of our guests and Team Members is our top priority. Members of the park’s security, Allegheny County, and West Mifflin police departments were already on site and immediately responded.”

All guests who attend Kennywood’s Fall Fest event are supposed to go through metal detectors and consent to have any bags searched. Additionally, minors are not supposed to remain in the park unaccompanied after 4:00 p.m., and all weapons are “strictly prohibited,” according to their site. Witnesses reported the shots were fired inside the park by a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a dark-colored COVID-19 face mask. A handgun was found near the scene outside the Music Express. 

As of now, Kennywood Park remained closed the day after the shooting, not attempting to resume the Fall Fest activities on Sunday. However, they plan to be open once again next weekend, with only time able to tell how this first weekend of chaos will affect security and attendance in the upcoming weeks. 

“We are greatly saddened by the violence that occurred last night,” Kennywood said in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. “Our thoughts are with those injured as a result of the incident, as well as all guests and team members affected by what happened.”