Minnesota State Fair Ends in Chaos After Fights, Shootings

(KNSI) — Minnesota State Fair police have some questions to answer after a shooting on the Midway Saturday night and another shooting and assault outside the gates Monday night.

Authorities say at about 9:30 Saturday; numerous fights were breaking out. According to police radio traffic, one fight inside Cafe Caribe reportedly involved the mention of a gun and possibly a knife. There were rumors of a shooting, that sent people running from the Midway. The use of pepper spray broke up one fight near a french fry stand. Just over half an hour later, officers responded after a call of shots fired, which reportedly happened right in front of police, who were strictly ordered not to chase after anyone.

The fairgrounds were evacuated a short time later.

The Minnesota State Fair police confirmed a 22-year-old man was shot in the leg on the north side of the Midway. He is expected to be OK.

Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said even though metal detectors are in place at every gate, that a small gun was brought in is not out of the question.

Governor Tim Walz took to his Twitter account to say he was “grateful for the coordinated law enforcement presence at the State Fair,” and said, “We’re monitoring the situation and working quickly to restore order.” He called what happened “simply unacceptable” and said, “if someone puts public safety at risk, the consequences will be harsh.”

At a press conference on Sunday, Walz said he implores “the judicial branch and prosecutors, if you commit a gun crime in Minnesota, it needs to be very clear that there are going to be consequences that are harsh. They need to be. The idea that we would have young people carrying guns and not be deterred one bit that there were innocent people around, and that they could see dozens of police as they were standing there and still do that. We have to acknowledge that the way we’re going to have to get out this is on the front end.”

The police presence at the state fair on Sunday was increased as a result.

Monday night, an 18-year-old man was shot just a few blocks away from the fairgrounds He is expected to be OK. A Minnesota Department of Transportation camera also showed a fight that broke out around 10:20 and someone shooting fireworks at responding officers.

The suspects remain on the loose.

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