The shooting of seven people Saturday night at the Coastal Empire Fairgrounds will be reviewed by the fair's board of directors, fair president Chris Hafer said Sunday, but hours after the midway crime, he wasn't sure what more could be done to prevent such an incident.
Nearly 50 off-duty Savannah-Chatham metro police officers were working the fair as security. Georgia State Patrol and Chatham County Sheriff's deputies also were on hand. Within minutes of the shooting, the number of law enforcement swelled to about 150, he said.
"We were doing our best to protect everybody," he said. "As soon as shots were fired, we carried out our emergency plan. We locked everything down to control the situation. The response from law enforceement was incredible."
Hafer said he, too, initially wondered whether metal detectors should be installed. At the grounds on Sunday, he looked at the hundreds of feet of chain-link fence and realized how easy it would be for someone to pass through a gun. Even more police or a different location might not help.
"What if we had it at The Pink House downtown? The same thing happened there. So where do we go? Do we not go to movies because of what happened in Colorado?"
Hafer's immediate priority Sunday, aside from staying on site to assure a smooth final day to the fair, was to wish the victims and their families his prayers.
The shootings sparked widespread concern Sunday.
Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson and members of City Council and administration are organizing a 10 a.m. Monday press conference to discuss teen violence after a Saturday night shooting injured seven at the Coastal Empire Fairgrounds.
One of the victims was listed in fair condition Sunday morning following surgery. The others all had non-life-threatening injuries.
Savannah-Chatham metro police officers had just cleared up whey they believe was an unrelated fight near the rides when shots were fired nearby about 10:40 p.m. Police secured the victims and locked down the fairgrounds.
Officers worked through the night to clear the scene of several thousand people and to search for a gunman wearing a dark jumpsuit.
Numerous subjects were detained and interviewed by Violent Crimes detectives. All have been released.
Listed as injured were Jamiende Johnson, 19, Keonna Roberson, 14, Deshawn King, 16, Diqwanie Butler, 18, Keyona Haward, 17, Jeffery Crawford, 18, and Tamika Williams, 36.
Police are continuing to search for the shooter and working to confirm a motive.