Even before Sunday’s mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas, Aaron Mosher had begun being a little more cautious when he went to concerts.

Over the past decade, he’d seen news reports of violence at public places, like the 12 people killed by a shooter in a Colorado movie theater in 2012 or the 49 who died after a shooting at a Florida nightclub in 2016. So when he goes to concerts now, he checks for the exits and makes a plan in his head about what he’d do in an emergency.

But he still goes.

“Incidents like this have been escalating for years now, and this will not keep me from going anywhere or doing anything,” said Mosher, 47, a lawyer from Cape Elizabeth who goes to five or six major concerts a year, plus more at smaller clubs. “It keeps getting worse. But I have no plans to stop going to shows. We’re human, we congregate, it’s impractical to think we won’t.”

Concert fans around Maine expressed shock at the shooting at the outdoor music festival Sunday night, which killed at least 59 people. But they also said they would continue going to concerts, partly because they don’t want to live in fear as public violence becomes more prevalent, and because they feel that venues and public safety officials are prepared for the possibility of violence.

Amanda Edgar of Gorham goes to about 10 concerts a year, in Maine and Massachusetts, and thinks venue security personnel are already taking the threat of violence very seriously, with bag checks and metal detectors. She has seen Jason Aldean twice, so the shooting Sunday, which began while he was on stage, was especially upsetting to her. She has brought her twin 12-year-old daughters to major concerts and hopes to again. The shooting in Las Vegas will likely prompt her to talk to her daughters about “what it’s like to be a kid in times like these.”

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“I don’t think this is specific to concerts. It’s about the way we don’t address gun violence, and we end up with these tragedies,” said Edgar, 41.

The shooting in Las Vegas, because it was at a concert, brings to mind for many the suicide bombing at a concert by pop singer Ariana Grande in Manchester, England, in May that killed 22 people, including children. Authorities called that a terrorist attack. The shooter in Las Vegas, Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, has not been linked to any terrorist group, though the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack without providing any evidence Monday. He shot at the concertgoers from an upper floor of a Las Vegas hotel.

Joshua Frances of Falmouth is one music fan who sees the possibility of concert violence from two very different perspectives. He travels the country as a concert photographer for Relix magazine, and he works as a disaster preparedness consultant to hospitals and other businesses.

The shooting in Las Vegas won’t stop him from photographing concerts, partly because he’s seen how much attention police forces, hospitals and governments have focused in the past decade or two on responding to shootings and other major violent episodes.

“As a society, we get better and better at this all the time. In the post September 11 world, the ways of dealing with threats and with planning for disasters is remarkable,” said Frances, 40. “But you can’t plan for everything.”

Portland is a city with a vibrant concert scene and two outdoor venues – Thompson’s Point and the Maine State Pier – that attract crowds of 3,000 to 5,000 people.

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Lauren Wayne, general manager of the company that runs the Thompson’s Point concert series, the State Theatre and Port City Music Hall, said Monday that public safety “is our utmost priority.” She said shows at those venues have, and will continue to have, professional security staff who are well-equipped to handle all emergencies, including active shooter situations. At Thompson’s Point, Portland Police officers are hired to staff every show. She also said metal detecting wands were used “as needed” and that people are patted down upon entry. She said no immediate security changes are planned.

At the Maine State Pier, where shows are booked by Waterfront Concerts of Bangor, a clear bag policy was put in place in 2016 following the Orlando shooting. People were told they could no longer bring in most handbags and that people could only bring items in clear plastic bags. A statement on the company’s website said the policy was initiated because “artists are looking to us to tighten up security.”

At Maine State Pier shows this year, police have been seen and metal detectors have been used. Alex Gray, head of Waterfront Concerts, declined to comment Monday.

Metal detectors also are used at Portland’s Hadlock Field, where the Portland Sea Dogs play. When they were installed in 2016, team officials said they wanted to be “proactive.”

Responding to questions about safety at city-owned concert venues, Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck said in an email that his department is “constantly reviewing best practices and tactical debriefs from tragic situations around the world.”

Link Stevens, a substance abuse counselor in Portland, said he won’t change his concert habits because of the Las Vegas shooting. He said over the years he’s become more cautious at shows, looking for exits, but thinks that’s more because he’s a parent than because of the threat of violence. He went to about a half-dozen shows on the Maine State Pier this summer and was glad to see the precautions in place, including the bag policy.

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“I don’t complain about the substantial security at the airport, and I won’t complain about it at the Maine State Pier, it’s the times we live in,” said Stevens, 58. “I’m not completely numb to the possibility of violence, but I refuse to dramatically change my lifestyle because of fear.”

Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com

Twitter: @RayRouthier


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