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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2012
A widely attended, well-publicized annual event in San Antonio, Texas each spring is Fiesta Week. Fiesta Week begins with the Battle of Flowers parade. In April 1979, a deranged gunman began to fire upon parade participants and bystanders. The area-wide disaster plan was activated in order to deal with the many casualties resulting from his actions. This paper provides a description of the disaster situation and describes the implementation of the mass casualty plan.
Over 300,000 people lined the parade route as the parade began. Gunfire erupted shortly after the start of the parade in an area where approximately 4,000 people had moved to observe the festivities. The first casualties included police and several parade spectators. Instinctively, onlookers sought cover behind cars, barrels and other parade barricades. Authorities estimated that about 500 people were pinned down by the gunfire.