Wayne Allyn Root’s on MGM are unfair

In his incoherent Oct. 19 column, Wayne Allyn Root claims, “Since the Strip shooting, I have had many MGM employees come out of the woodwork to talk to me. Days ago, I met in-person with members of MGM’s security personnel.” By his own admission, Mr. Root spoke to disgruntled employees who complain about faulty equipment and guards who have “no training for a crisis.”

This is laughable on its face because MGM security personnel deal with dozens of safety and security issues each night. Is Mr. Root implying that members of security staff have no training on how to identify and thwart the plans of a madman who painstakingly planned to shoot concertgoers from his sniper’s nest 30 floors above the concert? If Mr. Root figures out how to do that, I hope that he contacts the sheriff immediately and share his insights.

MGM Security staff by their actions interrupted Stephen Paddock’s attempt to tamper with doors leading to where the carnage was executed. It was security officer Jesus Campos who ultimately alerted police to the location of the shooter. I believe that many more people could have been killed or injured had MGM security not interrupted the shooter’s murderous plot.

Without diminishing the seriousness of this event, we should not anticipate this as an ordinary occurrence. The hospitality industry in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies will act with proportionality and preparation to deal with these types of future events. To call for the immediate arming of civilian security personnel is neither rational or proportional. What would we have expected an armed security staff to do during this incident?

There is one thing that causes me suspicion about Mr. Root’s muddled commentary. Several weeks ago, Mr. Root found it necessary to criticize MGM CEO Jim Murren as a liberal and cited the liberal policies of MGM Resorts. I don’t know what Mr. Murren’s politics are, and neither does Mr. Root. Mr. Murren and the employees have been successful in delivering great hospitality and entertainment as safely and conscientiously as possible. We need not insert a political footnote in every analysis or discussion, particularly about this tragic incident.