The organizing body behind the upcoming PAX West convention issued a statement today assuring fans that there will be an increased security presence at PAX West following the heartbreaking shooting at the Madden NFL 19 event in Jacksonville, Florida. The announcement comes just days before PAX West is scheduled to begin in Seattle, Washington.

Reed Exhibitions, the organizers of the PAX convention, stated that the safety of the attendees of PAX is paramount, as PAX is one of the largest gaming conventions in the United States. While Reed Exhibitions did not go into specifics on security details, for obvious reasons, they assured fans that there are extensive security measures in place to protect everyone at the event this year. All of this is in response to the shooting in Jacksonville, Florida by one of the participants of the Madden NFL 19 tournament. The shooting left 13 injured and three dead, including the shooter.

The PAX West event is held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, a large venue for this momentous gaming convention. The Madden event was held at Jacksonville’s GLHF Game Bar, which was surrounded by controversy between the owning company and the city of Jacksonville. It seems that both Sleiman Enterprises and the city of Jacksonville were both aware of some security risks at the venue, and now Reed Exhibitions is going out of their way to make sure there is no security risk for the big convention.

"The safety of our attendees, exhibitors, and staff is paramount to ReedPOP and Penny Arcade. As PAX has grown in popularity, we have responded with the addition of increased private security, law enforcement, and other personnel, each of whom are on-site at all times during our events."

"As a rule, we do not publicly announce or discuss the details of our security program in order to maintain its effectiveness, however, we work closely with the Washington State Convention Center, private security, the Seattle Police Department and federal law enforcement authorities to identify risks, assess them and develop our comprehensive security protocols for PAX West. We have in place extensive proactive measures; some that are visible during PAX events and many that are not. We are always working to improve our security plans and, if need be, adjust them, to ensure that we are doing all that we can to make PAX West, and all PAX events, a safe and secure environment for the community.

"Across the fifteen years of PAX events we have provided a safe and welcoming environment for more than a million attendees to come together for their love of gaming and we are ensuring that we adhere to that tradition at PAX West 2018."

With these preventative security measures in place, hopefully attendees of PAX West and future events will be a little more at ease so they can enjoy all the announcements and demos that the events are known for. With PAX West kicking off on August 31, and running through September 3, fans will hopefully have a safe and fun time at Seattle’s big gaming expo.

Source: Reed Exhibitions