After a rare outburst of violence Sunday night, Puyallup Fair officials and police have decided not to change security measures for the ongoing event.

Officials called the stabbing, which left a 19-year-old Tacoma man seriously injured, an isolated incident. Police commanders said the fight that led to the stabbing appears gang-related. No one has been arrested in the attack.

“There’s not much we could have done differently,” deputy police chief Bryan Jeter said Monday. “We had the proper staffing in place.”

Violence at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center is uncommon during the 17-day fair. Fistfights and pushing incidents break out occasionally but rarely do tensions escalate, Jeter said.

Fifteen years ago, four men were arrested after fighting with another man and slightly hurting him. The year before, a 15-year-old boy was arrested after police said he fired five shots from a handgun into the air. No one was injured.

This year’s fair had been quiet until last weekend.

The night before Sunday’s stabbing, police handled another suspected gang-related incident about 10:30 p.m. when gunfire broke out between two groups of young men at a fast-food restaurant near the fairgrounds. No serious injuries were reported.

Police were looking into whether some of the men might have been inside the fair before the shooting, Jeter said.

Investigators do not believe the two incidents were connected. Commanders say gang members come to the fair but tempers usually are controlled.

“Typically we don’t have this level of violence,” Lt. Dave McDonald said. “Usually, it’s neutral turf.”

The fair does not have metal detectors or conduct bag searches, spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme said.

“If someone wants to hide something, whether it’s in a mall or Seahawks game, they are going to do it,” she said.

The fair’s security force is comprised of 80 to 85 off-duty officers from area law enforcement agencies who rotate through patrols of the fairgrounds. On Sunday, 32 officers were on duty when the stabbing occurred.

On Saturday, in addition to the usual patrols, the regional gang task force, comprised of gang officers from area law enforcement agencies, was working at the fair and in the area.

“For the most part it’s a pretty mellow environment,” said Lakewood police Lt. Steve Mauer, who as a Puyallup police officer worked outside the gates at 10 fairs and who this year is working his third inside the fairgrounds. “The calls are much different than a regular shift.”

Problems usually concern missing persons, adults as well as children, shoplifting and occasionally someone passing counterfeit currency.

Fairgoers can be escorted off the private property if their behavior or what they are wearing – or not wearing – is inappropriate, LaFlamme said. “If we find someone that is not meeting the family-friendly standards, we escort them out,” she said.

Sunday’s stabbing occurred about 7:15 p.m. near the games and rides. Two men were fighting when one pulled out a knife and stabbed the other three times in the lower abdomen, Jeter said.

Officers working at the fair did not find the attacker, who fled into the crowd, police reported.

Paramedics took the victim to Tacoma General Hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. His condition was upgraded after surgery, Jeter said.

Witnesses and the victim have not cooperated with the investigation and detectives don’t know what sparked the fight, police reported.

In Saturday’s shooting, witnesses reported that two shots were fired and people in both groups had weapons. Bullets hit a car, Jeter said. The two groups fled but a police K-9 team found one of the possible shooters on Ninth Avenue Southeast, police reported.

The police dog found a 19-year-old man hiding behind a vehicle, and he was taken into custody. Officers found a loaded .44 magnum revolver near the vehicle, Jeter reported. Three others were detained for questioning.

Two hours later, Tacoma police gang officers stopped a vehicle associated with the other group involved in the shooting. Officers arrested one man and found a weapon that might have been used in the incident.

Investigators say at least one of the guns used in the shooting was stolen. They were researching the other weapon, McDonald said.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/crime

Staff photographer Joe Barrentine contributed to this report.

suspect at large

The man sought in connection with Sunday’s stabbing at the Puyallup Fair is described as Hispanic, 18 to 19, 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds. Puyallup police said he had a braided ponytail about 6 to 8 inches long. He wore a dark baseball hat turned backward and a dark shirt.