PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – The Danville-Pittsylvania County Fair continues to welcome in large crowds despite a deadly shooting Saturday night.
“It was an unfortunate event that happened and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victim,” said Fair Manager Larry Burnett.
Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office says a teenager was shot and killed Saturday night near the fairgrounds following an altercation between two people.
Family and friends took to social media and identified the victim as 16-year-old Joshua Rone of Caswell County, North Carolina. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses
But Saturday night’s incident isn’t slowing down attendance at the fair.
“Sunday was one of our best crowds ever. It may have been the best crowd ever in our thirty years. So Sunday is usually family come out to the fair day and that’s exactly what it was,” said Burnett.
10 News also spoke with multiple fair-goers who said they weren’t scared about attending.
Investigators say they believe the shooting was an isolated incident. But Burnett says he and organizers of the fair have made changes in response.
“We’ve done a complete lookover over all of our security measures. We are doubling our security for this weekend,” he said.
The fair continues through September 25.