Photo credit: Electric Forest
Electric Forest deploys “specialized festival K9 units” to ensure the safety of festival-goers at Michigan Festival following the Beyond Wonderland shooting.
Following the incident involving an active shooter at a campground just outside the Gorge Amphitheater on day one of Beyond Wonderland Festival, electric forest announced the safety precautions its staff have taken to ensure a safe environment for its festival-goers.
“We want to reassure you that the headquarters works year-round with major event security professionals, including the Michigan State Police, local law enforcement agencies and the FBI, to provide a safe and secure environment for our guests, employees and performers,” read a comment tweet by Electric Forest.
“We have had extensive discussions with these teams over the last 24 hours to improve safety oversight and protocols. This presence will be visible to all visitors throughout the festival site and campsites,” the festival tweets continued.
“In addition, we will have dedicated festival K9 units on site. These highly trained dogs and their experienced handler have undergone rigorous firearms detection in a large crowd and difficult environment.”
“Everyone on site plays an important role in our safety. We support the meaning of the mantra “See something, say something,” Electric Forest tweeted. “If there is any suspicious activity, behavior or actions of concern by an individual, please contact a member of the security team or festival staff immediately (…).”
Unfortunately, Electric Forest’s tweets aren’t surprising considering the festival takes place June 22-25, just days after the tragic shooting at Beyond Wonderland, Washington state, that killed two people and several others were injured. The police shot dead the perpetrator, who is currently in the hospital.
Although the shooting took place at the farthest campsite designated for Beyond Wonderland festival-goers, organizer Insomniac, out of caution, decided to cancel the second day of the event.