Fremont Street Officials Say Beefed-Up Security Successful

Posted on: July 15, 2022, 01:41h. 

Last updated on: July 15, 2022, 03:12h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

The first weekend of the strictest security ever imposed by the Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is being hailed as a triumph by attraction officials and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). The police reported no violent incidents, including aggravated assaults or robberies.

Fremont, Strip, Las Vegas
Spectators watch several Superhero performers at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas in an undated photo. Recently police have increased security in the area in response to increased crime. (Image: Las Vegas-Journal Review)

“This weekend was a great success through the increased presence and closely coordinated efforts of the LVMPD, City Marshals, and FSE Security,” FSE President and CEO Andrew Simon said in a statement.

Weekend visitors to the Fremont Street canopy are now required to submit to airport-like security measures, including metal detectors, bag checks, and a ban on all weapons (even for those with concealed-carry permits).

In addition, no one under age 21 may enter the popular downtown pedestrian mall without a parent or guardian after 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

The FSE, which operates the security checks via special-event permits, previously said these measures will run every weekend until further notice.

Crime On The Rise

The measures, paired with increased police presence from Friday through Sunday nights, follow an uptick in violent crime in or near the area.

Police data confirms that violent crime at the attraction and on nearby streets was rising before the measures went into effect, with 45 aggravated assaults reported by early July 2022, compared with only 27 last year.

“The safety and security of our guests, employees, and tenants has been and will always be our priority,” Simon said in a statement to the Review-Journal after the first shooting. “Everything else is secondary. The incidents from the past week cannot and will not be tolerated. Our tourism, jobs, and safety will not be threatened by these actions.”

Crime on the Rise

On June 19, a 16-year-old boy allegedly fatally shot one man and wounded another person under the electronic canopy. The shooting began as an argument that escalated into a fight, according to police. During the confrontation, a firearm was pulled, resulting in one man’s death and a bystander’s injury.

Then, on July 4, four days before the new security measures were enacted, another man was shot in the buttocks.

An Uber driver was also injured recently after picking up a group of young women on Fremont Street. The female driver was physically attacked after dropping the group at a nearby apartment.

Last Aug. 4, a 30-year-old man identified as Marschell Brumfield was killed during what began as a fight between two men near an entertainment stage at Fremont and 3rd streets, according to the Review-Journal. Mason Martin, then 36, was arrested in connection with the shooting.