On a late Sunday evening (Oct.1), a domestic terrorist named Stephen Paddock opened gunfire on Route 91 Harvest Festival attendees in Las Vegas, Nevada. The mass shooting left 58 people dead and over 500 people injured.
Paddock, 64, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound once the SWAT teams arrived at his 32nd-floor hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Paddock began to incite terror near the end of the festival as country music singer Jason Aldean was performing. According to the New York Times, nearly 22,000 people attended the event. The tragedy brought into question the future of festivals and what this means for safety and security as these events increase in magnitude each year.
Below, VIBE compiled a list of immediate questions that need solutions that you might be pondering on the future of festivals and tighter gun laws.
–
1) What happens to festivals surrounded by buildings, as utilized by the Las Vegas shooter?
2) What does this mean for security and tighter methods to prevent a tragedy on festival grounds?
3) What is the protocol for a gun-related emergency? Are there any contingency procedures in the event of such an emergency?
4) As a festival-goer, do you have a group plan? Do you have a friend finder option?
Mother who attended Las Vegas concert with young daughter: “I put the baby on the ground and got on top of her” https://t.co/PJLkc6AU1Z
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 2, 2017
5) Is there now a fear of going to festivals? Will there be a decrease in the number of attendees going forward?
6) How will this stifle your festival experience?
7) Given the expense of these massive venues, what will happen to the insurance rates for the actual events?
8) How does this affect the salary/checks of actual artists?
9) Will this mass shooting change people’s minds or perspective about supporting the NRA?
10) Will this affect open carry laws, which are legal in 45 states?
11) Will this change the #TakeAKnee protest now that Donald Trump utilized the American flag in his statement following the shooting?
.@POTUS Donald Trump calls #LasVegas shooting “act of pure evil”, and says speed of police reaction saved lives https://t.co/riGzMAsOTZ pic.twitter.com/Q3ErTAgcu0
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 2, 2017
12) Does race make a difference in how the media categorizes a shooter as a terrorist?
13) Would race affect the shooter’s target?