15-year-old Sydney Anderson shared her experience from Kennywood’s recent shooting.
September 28, 2022
Last Saturday, news broke that there was an altercation at Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, leaving three people shot and others injured as they attempted to flee the park.
The SIREN reached out to eyewitness Sydney Anderson for her account of the events, which occurred during the Phantom Fall Fest.
“I was on the Musik Express when the fight started. We saw everyone running, and we heard the gunshots. We were in front of the Jack Rabbit,” said Anderson, a 15-year-old from Beaver.
Anderson described the moments around 10:46 p.m., where an assailant began firing a handgun. Later on the scene, police found that two 15-year-old boys and a 39-year-old man had been shot.
“Obviously, it was Fright Night. I thought [the panic] was, at first, a whole group of people running from a scare actor,” said Anderson. “Then, I saw they were truly scared, and that the scare actor looked scared, so I knew something was wrong.”
Police so far have not identified any suspects in the shootings. On Monday, they announced that a gun recovered from the scene was reported as stolen in 2021. It had reportedly been taken from a vehicle in Columbus, OH that August.
Officials from the amusement park were to hold a press conference Wednesday morning regarding the shootings. They were expected to discuss new safety measures for the park.
This shooting has refueled an ongoing conversation regarding public safety, specifically concerning guns. Many express outrage that the assailant was somehow able to bring a gun into the theme park.
When asked what Kennywood could do in order to prevent something like this in the future, Anderson said, “Higher fences. Though, [short fences] came in handy for the people who got out.
“Their security guards need to [pay attention] better, metal detectors that actually work, and they actually check the bags.”
(Full disclosure: Sydney Anderson is a cousin of SIREN reporter Emma Giammanco.)
