Lollapalooza 2018: Chicago Increases Police Presence

CHICAGO, IL — Security will be upgraded for this year's Lollapalooza, which begins Thursday at Grant Park. The enhancements — which will include bag restrictions, more cops and screenings similar to airports — come in the wake of October's deadly mass shooting during a Las Vegas outdoor concert. The shooter in that tragedy also had booked a hotel room overlooking last year's four-day music festival in Chicago.

Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told the Chicago Tribune that extra officers would be working overtime to cover this year's Lollapalooza. No threats, however, have been made regarding the event.

According to Rich Guidice, the first depty for Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, an increased police presence will patrol Michigan Avenue beyond Grant Park's festival grounds, including nearby hotels and parking garages, the Tribune reports. SWAT snipers will be employed during the festival, and officers working the event — uniformed and undercover — have received active shooter trainng, the report added.

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On Oct. 1, Stephen Paddock, 64, shot and killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more when he fired on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The mass shooting was the deadliest in modern U.S. history, and Paddock, of Mesquite, Nevada, shot himself when police stormed his hotel room.

Before October's attack, Paddock made a reservation Aug. 1, 2017, at the Blackstone Hotel and booked another room for Aug. 3, 2017, the start of last year's Lollapalooza. Both reservations ran until Aug. 6, the last day of the event, but he never showed up.

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In September of last year, Paddock rented several downtown Las Vegas condos overlooking the Life Is Beautiful Festival, an annual music, food and art event covering 18 city blocks. South Side native Chance the Rapper was one of the festival's performers.

Chicago police won't simply have an added physical presence. Officers also will be monitoring social media and other online outlets for any threats to the event or musical acts, the Tribune reports.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Flume performs at Lollapalooza in 2016 (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Samsung)