Pollstar: Paul Weiss started his work shift Oct. 1 the way he always did. He dug his keys out of his jeans pockets, along with his wallet and spare change, and routinely dropped them into a storage bag that he stashed underneath the stage he’d be shining his spot on that evening.
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This article offers a new perspective on the Las Vegas Mass Shooting that took place earlier this week. From the point of view of a spot operator, I learned that the start of the shooting was just mass confusion-- a lot of people thought it was just fireworks, and that is even what the LD declared it was, but once the crowd started to disperse, panic struck Weiss, as he describes hiding behind the poles of his tower, and being able to turn slightly and actually see the killer. I can't even imagine how scary that must have been, and also how helpless and trapped you must feel sitting 28 feet in the air. I never even thought about what it must feel like to have worked the event, but now I know, just how terrified everyone must have felt.
I have been thinking about this incident a lot because out of all the major terrible incidents the past couple months, both natural and human caused, this one hits closest to home. Rane, my big as a freshman works right in that area and I know various other people in the entertainment industry who are located in or around Las Vegas. Besides that, the fact that this happened at a concert and I can picture myself working on something like that means that I can more easily try to imagine what that might be like. I have wondered what communication was like on the headset. I figured it might start with a sound guy saying something to the effect of “did that come through the system, can someone check the connections backstage” something like that. It is interesting and terrifying to hear what actually happened. Being trapped 20 feet above everyone else seems terrifying. The fact that Weiss had military training and instantly thought he heard machine gun fire is incredible and makes me wonder more about everyone’s first reactions.
Its terrifying to see the situation from the viewpoint of the employees that were present at the concert. While I appreciate that MGM International Resorts seems to be incredibly invested in safety in terms of fire and bomb preparation and prevention, I don't really know how far active shooter training would get anyone. While it certainly might help, I think its far too easy to get an incredibly high powered gun and a vantage point to prevent these kinds of tragedies. A bomb can be contained and sniffed out, a fire usually exists in plain sight. However, an active shooter such as Paddock can be completely concealed by the bouncing of sound in the area and the use of long range rifles. Like the article mentioned, the direction in which the bullets were coming from was almost impossible to identify by the patrons of the concert, especially on the Las Vegas strip where everything is made of glass that does nothing but bounces the sound in a million directions.
have friends who work in Las Vegas and friends who tour with Broadway productions so reading this hits close to home. Also because, before coming to grad school, I worked with a stagehands local doing a variety of jobs, one of them being a spot op on several occasions. The last gig I did before stepping away was a spot op for the Rod Stewart/Cindi Lauper tour. From my position on spot 1, I would have been in the direct path of any active shooter. The venue is an outdoor amphitheater that accommodates 15k people and it was a sold out show. I also think of my colleagues that night working with me. We all would have been targets. The other side of this is that there would be nothing that I, or my other spot team members would have been able to do had we had active shooter training. I was stuck in a position that takes time to get to and from. Had I or a crew member been hit, medical would not have been able to get to us quickly. Active shooter training is valuable, but not everyone will benefit and I feel that OSHA should update its 10 and 30 hour courses to include outdoor venues and performing arts spaces. We also need to have OSHA identify that an outdoor venue and indoor venue is different and will require a different approach to this training. Yes, it’s important to have, but before that happens, it needs to be tailored to the uniqueness of our industry.
One thing I instantly thought of while reading Weiss's account of the shooting at Route 91 was that famous Mr. Rogers quote about "looking for the helpers" when something bad happens. How people were lifting out the wounded without concern for themselves, even using bike racks to do it. It made reading about such a heartbreaking thing a little more bearable. The first time I have ever had active shooter training for a job was this past summer at the Santa Fe Opera. Weiss's mention of it being a potential future OSHA requirement I think is dead on. After the last two years it's probably going to be mandatory very soon and not just for office spaces. Since these atrocities can literally happen anywhere I think some kind of bare minimum training should become mandatory. Not that this training will help much as these tragedies are unpredictable, but some small bit of preparedness could save lives.
This is a horrifying account and I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch everything happen below you and feel helpless to what you were watching. I do think though that as we move into a world where this becomes more common, and training for mass shootings has to become a part of our on boarding and learning about a venue it is important to know the places where people can help. I don't know exactly how you would implement this, or where it would go in your training but that guy had a better view of what was happening and probably where the shooting was coming from well before the cops got there just by the nature of his job and so maybe spot ops, or people with good vantage points should have a way to contact police. I am really not sure what the solution is here except to keep voting for people who vote for gun control and do the best that we can, and train as many people as we can.
I am sure more and more accounts like this one will continue to emerge in the aftermath of the shooting, and as the investigation continues. Yet Weiss' perspective on the incident is relatively unique, both in his position above the crowd, as well as his perception of the event through the lens of someone with military experience. What I found most interesting about this article was the section that addressed the security measures taken leading up to the event, as well as the training that people are exposed to by way of OSHA. While OSHA may very well start offering a more robust program in active shooter training, I cannot help but question the efficacy of training even then. One of the greatest factors in an active shooter incident is preventing people from panicking. Often times, those in occupations that might encounter gunfire are trained intensely and exposed to gunfire so that they are sure to maintain a level head and all of their key decision making capabilities if they do encounter an incident. That said, I just don't see a feasible way to do that for entire populations of people.
What a terrifying situation to be in. I can’t even imagine having to deal with an active shooter situation like that one. But it seems more and more that’s the reality of our industry nowadays. I know several professors have taken time to stop and talk about this incident in class, and almost always the response is “There should be some training for this”. I’m eagerly awaiting when exactly OSHA (or someone, really anyone) will standardize a protocol for venue staff during an active shooter situation, ideally something similar to fire protocols. I know here at CMU there’s active shooter protocols, but I can’t help but wonder if they considered a live performance in those protocols. I would love for someone from campus security to come give a class on what our role is during a live performance, especially as a student stage manager. We live in a really terrifying world, and it’s good to be as prepared as possible.
It is really interesting to hear the perspective of someone working at the concert, especially someone that was high up in the spot tower and could not escape. They were very lucky that they did not get hit in the towers since they were stuck up there. It is a good thing they were able to hide behind the metal posts holding up the tower. It was interesting to hear a little bit of what the communication was over comm. It seemed like they were just as confused as everyone else what was happening, but at least they all could try and help each other by telling them to lay low. It is a good thing the spot op was in the military and knew they were gunshots right away so he could inform everyone to take cover and not check on what the sound was. It is a good thing he kept his phone on him when he went up in the tower instead of leaving it with the rest of his stuff.
It is often that we see these tragedies from the perspective of the audience, but it is another story completely when it is told by the staff of a venue in which the event takes place. It is a completely different story when you are in a position of responsibility for the safety of the audience. To be in that situation and not have a way to enact a protocol other than wait is terrifying; there is nothing to be done except pray that it all ends soon, and seeing the tragedy take place from above sounds more chilling than anything I can imagine. There is always the immediate thought that we all have: we should find a way to be ready for this. In reality, what could be done to ensure the safety of thousands in the mere seconds that you have to enact the protocol. It is a helpless and devastating situation to be presented with.
Reading about Paul’s experience in Las Vegas during the shooting was eye opening. Personally I hadn’t looked into the actual events as much as I wish I did, and I’m glad that I could take the time to read this post. Reading through what Paul said was very strange, because I can see now how it all played out. We often get stories from the people on the ground during a shooting, but the experience of someone in the air, above everything is a very interesting perspective. I’m glad that he made it out safely. I am still amazed by the response of the public, and the lack of response by this country’s lawmakers, but that is a debate to be had another time. His statements about OSHA were very apt, and hopefully OSHA can work something out so that they can provide training in situations other than the standard office setup.
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