River Fest at Texas State gets 'out of hand', students say
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas State University students claim an event on Thursday got out of hand; however the University Police Chief said they had it under control.
River Fest was back, and Texas State students said security wasn’t ready for the crowd.
Thousands of people waited in line to get into the Tyga concert for River Fest at Sewell Park on campus. Video showed people jumping fences to get inside.
"So many people and so little of an entryway," Texas State student Carson Isaac said.
Video showed many people didn’t want to wait.
"We saw everyone sneaking in. We saw the whole gate happening," said Lauren Vickery, who was at River Fest.
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"Not as much sneaking in, they were busting in," Isaac said. "They wanted to get in there."
"The gate was down and everyone started screaming and rushing in and the line just like disappeared and everyone was inside," Vickery said.
UPD Chief Matt Carmichael said it happened three times.
"We had our staff there and were able to correct the fence, get people back, and checking with my staff, to get everything corrected on each one of those events, took anywhere from 5, 10 minutes max," Chief Carmichael said.
When asked how many people were able to get in without having their student ID checked or getting a wristband, Chief Carmichael said, "A couple may have gotten in."
Students who were there disagree. "That was at least 150 people that ran over that fence," Vickery said.
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Chief Carmichael said about 25 people were working as security for the event, and they had it under control. "We had adequate staffing to address the situation. We did not have to call for mutual aid assistance," he said.
Chief Carmichael reported two injuries, no assaults, and no arrests.
Many Texas State students didn’t mind the free entry and are looking forward to next year.
"Hopefully Tyga comes back?" FOX 7 reporter Meredith Aldis asked.
"Dude, fingers crossed, dude," Isaac responded.
A university representative said they will review what happened and see what they can improve upon next time.