RINGGOLD, Va. – Security was increased at the Danville-Pittsylvania County Fair Sunday, hours after a teenager was shot and killed in the parking lot of the fairgrounds.
The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said the incident followed a fight between two young adults. The manager reports that it started outside of the admission gates and that the altercation escalated into the shooting.
The boy was shot around 11:30 Saturday night, about a half-hour before the gates were set to close for the night.
The fair was packed at the time with about 10,000 people in the midway. Crowds of people scattered after hearing gunfire.
The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office has not released the victim’s name because of his age.
The manager of the fairgrounds described this as an isolated incident and said security has been tightened in the wake of the shooting. He said this was the first fatal incident in the fair’s 30-year history.
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the shooting. A reward of up to $5,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.