One person is in custody after gunfire at the State Fair of Texas wounded three people Saturday night. The gunfire disrupted an event that has become a tradition for families across the state.
Dallas Police arrested 22-year-old Cameron Turner and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault.
The three victims, two men and one woman, suffered non-threatening injuries. All were last listed in stable condition.
"We were 20 to 30 feet away from the actual shooting," said Catherine, who called in to Newsradio 1080 KRLD after the shooting. "We were entering the Food Court at the time. We heard the gunshots and saw the smoke. I didn't see the actual shooters. My next reaction was to get on the ground. I made sure my brother was near me. We started running to get to a safe location. The upsetting part is that someone was able to come in with a weapon with families trying to enjoy their Saturday."
Her father says he's grateful for the response by Dallas Police and staffers inside the State Fair.
"The parade had just finished. We heard the sirens, we saw the police headed that way. Once again, the people who were there to help us out - they did their job," he said. "The police did what they did - we appreciate that."
However, he noted that the alert from the State Fair of Texas was difficult to hear. "You couldn't hear - the siren, the evacuation notice, nothing like that," he said. "We heard it later on, maybe 20 to 25 minutes later."
Others at Fair Park describe a chaotic scene in the aftermath of the shooting.
"We were on Lone Star Boulevard and getting food...a whole bunch of people started running toward us," Connie told KRLD. "We looked across about 20 yards from us and somebody was on the ground. Some of the people behind the food kiosk took over paper towels and looked like they were trying to help that person."
KRLD's Russell Scott was one of the visitors at the State Fair when the shooting happened.
"We saw a large number of police officers. It was at that point somebody yelled 'shooter!' and just a huge crowd of people began to flood out...and were just running and screaming," Scott said. "Many of us ran into the rodeo in the coliseum where it was confirmed to us by the public address announcer that it was an active shooter. Police were telling us to stay inside."
Dallas Police say the incident started at about 7:45pm on Saturday. The State Fair of Texas issued an emergency evacuation order as well, advising people to avoid the area.
"One man shot at another man. Three people were shot. All have non-life threatening injuries," said DPD Senior Corporal Melinda Gutierrez. "The suspect ran from the scene. Officers were able to locate him and took him into custody. A gun was also recovered."
The State Fair of Texas had installed several new security procedures and equipment this year, including the OpenGate metal detector and weapons detection system. Officials with the Fair discussed the new equipment in September at a news conference before the start of the Fair.
"OpenGate is a revolutionary weapons detection system designed for automatic screening of people in transit, including their backpacks and bags. All Fair-goers will walk through this weapons-detection system as you enter the State Fair," said State Fair Senior Vice President of Public Relations Karissa Condoianis. "You won't have to take your phone out of your pocket, you won't have to put your bag down. This is going to read through all of that."
The Fair also hired an outside security firm to assist their own security personnel and the police agencies that work the Fair.
"Andy Frain Services has joined the Fair's safety and security efforts," Condoianis said. "We look forward to partnering with this best-in-class organization to provide security screening at our gates and in key areas of the Fairgrounds."
The Fair also instituted a new policy requiring kids under 18 to be accompanied by an adult when entering the Fair, although they are not required to remain with that adult once they are inside the Fairgrounds.
Some of the children at the Fair described a frightening scene similar to the shooter drills they practice at school.
"I heard the person say 'oh my God, there's a shooter, there's a shooter'. For a second, I didn't know what to do," said ten-year-old Hadley, who was at the Fair with her family. "My parents just started telling me to hurry up. And I was just sitting there, not believing that it was real...and I just wanted to get out."
Hadley's mom, Heather, is glad no one was killed - but is concerned by the impact on people in the crowd.
"We just want things to be normal...for kids to not have to keep going through situations like this," she said.
The State Fair of Texas will be open Sunday, although the opening time has been pushed back from 10:00am until 2:00pm. Guests who lost items at the Fair during the commotion can contact info@bigtex.com.
Details of what led to the shooting have not yet been released. Police are still investigating.