After increased rates of crime and gun violence in recent weeks at the Fremont Street Experience (FSX) in downtown Las Vegas, city officials are mulling new security measures, including increased police presence and even an under-21 curfew for the city.
A meeting was held Tuesday, July 5 between Mayor Carolyn Goodwin, police officials and business representatives from the area to discuss these possibilities, and those familiar with the matter told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Fremont Street will likely have an increased law enforcement presence during high-traffic times, especially events and weekends moving forward.
Goodman spoke to the Review-Journal after the meeting, saying that the increased levels of crime, especially gun violence, is “not tolerable anymore,” and that an under-21 curfew in the city is being considered. Any such proposal, however, would need several clearances, including from city council.
The FSX, which is privately owned and operated, has not commented on the proposed measures.
Two separate shooting incidents, one on July 4 and the other on June 19, left one dead and another critically injured. Both incidents began as physical altercations before escalating, according to police reports. The June 19 shooting occurred right underneath the FSX video canopy, which is a popular tourist attraction with multiple casinos nearby.
Derek Stevens, who owns three casinos near the FSX—Circa, Golden Gate and The D—was present at the meeting, and said afterwards that he and others in the area are committed to ensuring that Las Vegas is “very clearly safe and clean.”
“We are gonna clean up Fremont Street, period,” Stevens told the Review-Journal.
Others, however, were less enthused—Rohit Joshi, owner of the nearby Neonopolis shopping center, said that each venue, most notably casinos, already have extensive security systems in place. Joshi said that flare-ups like these are “nothing new.”
