Trail Ride/Concert Fallout Continues; Teen Who Was Shot, Killed Identified

Longtime Officer Called Event Worst Experience of His Law Enforcement Career; Two City Blocks Worth of Shattered Glass from Car Break-Ins 

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office identified the young man who died after a shooting at the trail ride near Nechanitz on Sunday as 19-year-old Andrew Dewayne Webb Jr. of Houston.

The Real Deal Family Reunion – a trail ride, campout and live music concert – took place last weekend on private property off FM 3011. The event drew many thousands of people. Lt. David Beyer of the Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 28, after officials tried shutting down the event.

First responders had difficulty reaching Webb due to the massive crowd. He was eventually evacuated by a medical helicopter to Dell Seton Medical Center, where succumbed to his injuries around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Beyer said investigators have identified a person of interest. Investigators were not ready to release a name, however. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Marshalls to locate the individual, Beyer added. Law enforcement are actively investigating numerous other criminal matters related to the event last weekend.

“We have one or two actual reports (of vehicle burglaries),” Beyer said. “But according to the deputy who went out there to look at the scene where these cars were at, he said there was probably two city blocks of broken glass on the ground. We’re thinking that people got to their vehicles, saw they were broke into, and got in and left.”

In addition, deputies arrested at least four people for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Beyer expressed frustration with some attendees who disregarded law enforcement and contributed to the chaos on Saturday night. At one point officials closed the gates after the crowd grew to a massive size and became increasingly out of control. A large group of unruly people “bum rushed” the gates and knocked them down, injuring an event staffer in the process.

Beyer, who was part of the security operation for the event, described it as the worst experience of his law enforcement career.

“I don’t want to deal with anything like that again,” Beyer said.

The County required organizers of the Real Deal Family Reunion to obtain a mass gathering permit after issues related to last year’s event, which took place at the same property. County Judge Dan Mueller approved the permit application submitted by Real Deal President Ronald Addison on Sept. 12.

Prior to the permit approval, a group of concerned citizens sent Fayette County officials a 19-page letter detailing their grievances from last year’s trail ride. In it, they predicted some of the problems that led up to the tragedy last weekend. They raised concerns about the safety of attendees on the trail ride, specifically regarding the vehiclepulled party wagons.

“No guidance suggesting riders to avoid alcohol (alcohol consumption to the contrary appears encouraged), ride inside the wagons, only use qualified drivers of the wagons, maintain a single line, proceed at a regular pace to maintain contact with the wagon in front of you, etc.,” the letter stated. “Images suggest that some event riders appeared to have been impaired and/or reckless.”

As the trail ride started on Saturday afternoon, one of the double-decker party wagons collapsed, injuring several of the people of were riding on it. Fayette County EMS Director Josh Vandever said seven people were transported to area hospitals in stable condition.

Furthermore, the letter from concerned citizens predicted that event organizers would be unable to control the size of the crowd.

“Because the event is a ‘come one, come all’ invitation (…), Mr. Addison has no reasonable way of knowing how many people will attend, no effective method to limit attendance and no way of ensuring that only ticketed spectators will be admitted,” the letter stated. “It is dubious he can tell how many people are in attendance at any one point in time. And, as far as we can tell, tickets are not limited in number. Mr. Addison fails on the control of the admission of spectators.”

Addison’s permit application estimated a crowd size of about 7,000 over the course of the three-day event. Admission was $25. After the Record’s initial story about the shooting in Tuesday’s paper, Addison contacted the reporter to complain about the coverage. In the message, Addison mentioned the 7,000 number.

“You had nothing positive in the article and I ran out of 7,000 wristbands right before I shut it down,” Addison said.

However, the Sheriff’s Office estimated the crowd was much larger than 7,000 on Saturday night alone. There was so much traffic trying to get to the property that deputies attempted to shut down FM 2145. Beyer reported that vehicles disregarded the officers working traffic control and drove around them in the ditches. The Fayette County Judge’s Office issued a statement Wednesday, Oct. 1, saying that the Real Deal Family Reunion will no longer be welcome in Fayette County. Read the statement on page 1A.