Waldameer Park Stabbing, Should we say goodbye to free admission parks?

During this memorial day my home park Waldameer Park and Water World was having small fights break out through out the day, I was there memorial day and saw 3 fights up close, one by the Ravine Flyer entrance, one by the live entertainment stage and the last one i saw was by the fountain outside of the Dodgems and Musik Express.

Neither of these i saw had blood and where broken up within 20 seconds of the fights breaking out, but other people in my school say they saw other fights there that i did not see including ones in the pirates cove, one at the north end and a few on the outskirts of the kiddie land.

At around 9 pm, the stabbing took place, it was outside of the midway arcade and the main ticket booths a white male was slit in the throat and he immediately fled to the parking lot, the security officer siting outside the west gates saw him fleeing and went to make sure everything was okay, after seeing his wound he called the paramedics and the man was rushed to the hospital, they followed the trail of blood to the entrance of the arcade and they arrested the group of men standing around eyeballing the officers.

This whole incident could have been avoided if they have a metal detector and a bag search, you could walk into Waldameer with countless weapons in your back pack if you wanted. Should Waldameer and other free admission parks add gates and close it off?

I heard about this. I would've never expected this from Waldameer.

There are pros and cons, but in general people who go solely with the intent of making trouble are less likely to if they've got to pay.

And yet there have been recent shootings at Six Flags in the past few years.

Either way it doesn't bother me. I know it keeps out non paying troubmakers and that's fine.

On Fireworks Days and Holidays, everyone under 20 years of age and not with a parent must purchase a Ride-A-Rama. So the framework for eliminating trouble is already in place except this time it didn't work. I'd prefer to see them just expand it a bit to require parental accompaniment for everyone under 20 regardless of if they have paid or not. A nominal non-rider entry price wouldn't be awful on those days either.

Metal detectors and bag searches would be an over-reaction and in my opinion do very little to detract trouble.

Security gates and bag searches? Yeah, maybe. Not allowing people under 20 to go to a park without supervision?? Really? That's a bit extreme.

I honestly don't know how much bag searches really help though. I mean, most bag searches are the equivalent of a glance. I can't remember the last time my purse was thoroughly searched. I could have carried anything into a park, and it wouldn't have likely been detected. Still, tighter security is important and (in my opinion) sadly necessary at some parks.

Ok, 18 then. :)

Similarly, would bag searches and admission also be appropriate at a shopping centre? Or a non-amusement park? County fair? Etc

I think people with enough intent to cause trouble will find work-arounds.

Ban knives.

Wait...was this an assault knife? Did it have a blade over 3 inches?

I can only speak from personal experience, but charging money and having metal detectors overwhelmingly cuts down on the people who are simply out to cause trouble.

Case in point: no knife = no stabbing.

Unless you're Gonch. Then you will find a way to stab.

Oh, I know of 124 ways to stab you with common household items.

"Stabbing" might be a little dramatic. One news source described it that way, while the rest called it "cutting." The guy had to be talked into going to the hospital, apparently.

koasterkitty said:

This whole incident could have been avoided if they have a metal detector and a bag search

I've travelled to theme parks in fifty-two countries, and I don't think I've ever seen a metal detector at a park outside of North America.

IMHO adding more security at park entrances is a sticking plaster rather than a fix for the underlying problem.

Just my €0.02...

Lord Gonchar said:

Oh, I know of 124 ways to stab you with common household items.

Wouldn't it be fun to get stabbed with Gonch's shades? (#113 of 124)

I've heard about the legendary 113, a.k.a. the sunglass surprise, but my stabbing experience at BooBuzz several years ago involved a corndog stick. The wound still oozes a bit when it's cold outside.

But hey! Gonch and ERT!

People under 20 are still allowed to enter, they just have to buy there wrist band or show there season pass. you don't have to get your bag checked

they should only do bag checks on weekends and holidays. these fights have not been a thing that poped up out of nowhere, on holidays fights annually break out. Last memorial day only 3 fights broke out i think its a gang meetup where they turn a safe environment into a war zone.

You always see a large increase of security on these days so why not increase the security measures? I do think the large increase in fights is thanks to the new "MS13" gang that just sprung up in Erie, PA.

Richard Bannister said:

I've travelled to theme parks in fifty-two countries, and I don't think I've ever seen a metal detector at a park outside of North America.

IMHO adding more security at park entrances is a sticking plaster rather than a fix for the underlying problem.

You're familiar enough with our country to know that the underlying problem won't be fixed any time soon....sadly.

koasterkitty said:

i think its a gang meetup where they turn a safe environment into a war zone.

I do think the large increase in fights is thanks to the new "MS13" gang that just sprung up in Erie, PA.

These two sentences seem totally speculative. Any evidence of either of these claims?

Vater said:

Ban knives.

Wait...was this an assault knife? Did it have a blade over 3 inches?

Holy crap, I was obviously joking, and I made up the 3-inch blade thing. But...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm

ApolloAndy said:

koasterkitty said:

i think its a gang meetup where they turn a safe environment into a war zone.

I do think the large increase in fights is thanks to the new "MS13" gang that just sprung up in Erie, PA.

These two sentences seem totally speculative. Any evidence of either of these claims?