Fremont Street’s first weekend of upped security ‘successful’

New security measures at the Fremont Street Experience were successful over their first weekend of use, tourism and public safety officials said this week.

The Metropolitan Police Department received no reports of violent events, aggravated assaults or robberies throughout the weekend of July 8-10, public information officer Larry Hadfield said in an email.

Weekend visitors to the Fremont Street Experience are now required to go through metal detectors, bag checks and be subject to a curfew for unaccompanied people under the age of 21. The increased measures, coupled with a larger law enforcement presence on Friday and Saturday nights, came in response to a recent spate in violent crime.

“The action plan has been successful for the first weekend,” Hadfield said. “The additional LVMPD presence and proactive measures had a positive effect.”

The measures took effect the same week as shots were fired in an early morning fight on July 4. And in June, an armed fight on the mall ended in a 16-year-old fatally shooting a man and wounding a bystander.

The Fremont Street Experience — a private entity that operates the area’s three stages, video canopy screen and the SlotZilla zipline — runs the security points through special event permits, allowing it to prevent weapons from entering the tourist area even for those who hold a concealed carry permit. The organization previously said the security measures will run on weekends until further notice.

“This weekend was a great success through the increased presence and closely coordinated efforts of the LVMPD, City Marshals and FSE Security,” Fremont Street Experience President and CEO Andrew Simon said in a statement. “We will continue to refine and adapt our security plan for special events to ensure the safety and security of our guests, employees and tenants.”

There have been 45 aggravated assaults reported so far in 2022, compared with 27 at this point last year, Metro told the Review-Journal last week. Five of those related to firearms and most others related to injuries sustained from fighting. And, 20 robberies have been reported so far this year compared with 14 by the same time in 2021. Police measure crime related to the Fremont Street Experience within the east-west borders of Eighth to Main streets and the north-south borders of U.S. 95 to Bridger Avenue to include foot traffic to and from the attraction.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.