Kennywood to open on time following security meeting with DA's office, law enforcement

Kennywood says it will open for its 125th season as scheduled on April 22 after amusement park officials met with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office last week to address security concerns.

“The intent of the meeting and future steps is to demonstrate the shared commitment the park, law enforcement and the district attorney have to overall public safety so guests can enjoy a best-of-class entertainment experience at Kennywood,” according to a joint statement issued late Monday.

On March 24, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said at a news conference that Kennywood was unsafe and officials there were not being cooperative regarding security issues identified by law enforcement officers following a shooting at the park on Sept. 24 that wounded three people.

Zappala said Kennywood was unresponsive to a request for law enforcement to enter the property to do a security review in February, forcing his office to obtain a search warrant to do so. Zappala said then that if his concerns were not addressed, he would seek a court order to keep the park closed until they were.

At the time, a spokeswoman for Kennywood said they would not engage in any “political controversy.”

Related:

• March 24, 2023: Zappala threatens to keep Kennywood from opening if it doesn't comply with security demands
• March 22, 2023: Kennywood to celebrate 125 years with new ride, other amenities
• Sept. 26, 2022: Kennywood shooting puts spotlight on park security, metal detectors

However, in the statement issued by both Kennywood and the DA’s office, they said Zappala’s concerns have been addressed and the park will open as scheduled.

The statement said Zappala hosted a meeting with members of his office, Kennywood administrators and state police on April 5 to discuss security enhancements at the park.

During the meeting, the statement said, Kennywood officials shared details about security upgrades that had been made over the past eight months, including an increased police presence, improvements to the fence line surrounding the park and the implementation of a chaperone policy.

Those changes followed other measures completed last year following the shooting.

At the meeting, Kennywood committed to continuing to work with law enforcement — state police specifically — to conduct a full security review with full access to the park.

Kennywood has retained an independent security expert to provide additional guidance, the statement said.

Zappala wants the Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association to review Kennywood’s active shooter plan and critical incident command protocols to ensure they are aligned with current best practices.

“For security reasons, the findings and specifics of new security measures to be implemented following these reviews will remain confidential,” the statement said.