The man accused of firing a gun in a crowded food court at the State Fair of Texas Saturday told police he was defending his family.
That is one piece of the information in a Dallas Police arrest affidavit obtained by NBC5 Monday.
Three people were wounded in the shooting. All of them were released from the hospital after treatment.
The fair opened four hours late on Sunday and with regular hours on Monday, with a steady flow of visitors as investigators worked to find out how a gun got into the fair.
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There was pandemonium Saturday night as police evacuated the fair for a search of the entire 277-acre site to be sure there was only one shooter.
The shooting occurred in the Tower Building food court around 7:45 p.m.
Kiavona Young was a witness.
“We were in the food court. I heard the shots actually. It sounded like it as coming from the middle, and luckily, thank God, I was near the front door. So, as soon as I heard the gunshots, I was able to get up and get out of there,” she said.
The affidavit said 22-year-old suspect Cameron Turner of Dallas also ran from the scene but was quickly captured by State Troopers who were on duty at the fair. The document said a handgun was recovered from Turner in the arrest.
The affidavit said Turner told officers that a group of big men approached him and went into "defensive mode" to protect his family. Turner admitted firing 3 or 4 shots intended for one of those big men.
According to the document, an officer who arrested Turner watched a video recording of the incident in the food court. In the video, Turner was by himself and not with his family as he purchased a bottle of water. In the background, several men could be seen approaching Turner from behind.
The affidavit said a person named Cade Kelly could be seen exchanging a few words with Turner in the video that could not have been recorded sound. Kelly had nothing in his hands and did not reach for anything. The affidavit said Turner pulled out a handgun, began shooting at Kelly, and, in the process, wounded two other people.
The affidavit said detectives interviewed all three of the shooting victims, and two cooperated with investigators, but Kelly did not.
Police found no prior arrests or outstanding warrants for Turner.
Public records show a 19-year-old named Cade Kelly with a Fairview, Texas address.
Efforts by NBC5 to reach Kelly or relatives of Turner have been unsuccessful.
Turner was in the Dallas County Jail Monday on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with an initial bond set at $1.5 million. However, court documents said Turner's bond was eventually reduced to $350,000.
People entering the State Fair of Texas Monday passed through the same metal detectors that were used Saturday. The system called “Open Gate” is new to the fair this year.
“It’s not a huge boxy set up like you’re used to seeing, they are a lot more discreet,” fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis said.
The fair forbids visitors to carry guns except licensed handgun owners, who are allowed to carry guns concealed.
“We are working with the Dallas Police Department to determine how this weapon got into the state fair of Texas,” Condoianis said. “Safety is our number one priority out here, and so it’s very important that we understand how this happened because we do have very stringent safety measures at all of our gates.”
Dallas City Council Member Adam Bazaldua, who represents the Fair Park neighborhood, praised the swift actions of fair staff and police in this situation.
But he said he wants to see fair policy changed to forbid all guns except law enforcement.
“There can really be nothing good that comes from people holding a gun on the fairgrounds during the State Fair of Texas,” Bazaldua said.
Head of security, Jeff Cotner, said a year’s worth of planning goes into keeping the fairgrounds safe each fair season.
“We screen everyone. Not only do we screen them we also look in their bags,” said Cotner. “Then once you get into the park? You have retired police officers at safety stands. You have roving police officers. You have roving patrol of uniform officers.”
Cotner said there’s an ongoing review of the shooting, which happened near the same location of another chaotic incident last October. NBC 5 asked Cotner if it was an area of concern.
“There’s not a weakness in security and it’s not a blind spot. We have a camera trained on that area all the time,” he said.
The 2023 State Fair of Texas ends on Sunday, October 22.
