He said Downtown has some of the lowest rates of shots fired compared to other parts of the city, and he expected other popular Downtown events planned for this summer — especially those during the day, such as Concerts on Square and Taste of Madison — would be safe.

Rhodes-Conway used the incident to blame the Republican-controlled Legislature for its failure to pass tougher gun laws.

“Our job is made more difficult by a state Legislature that advances reckless gun laws and at the same time curtails the rights of cities to take further action,” she said.

‘Sheer dumb luck’

Given the density of the crowd and the number of shots fired, Verveer said it was perhaps “only by the virtue of sheer dumb luck” that Saturday’s shooting did not result in a larger tragedy. But he remained hopeful for increased safety in the future.

“I don’t think this one incident is going to mar the future of Shake the Lake,” he said. “The organizers and the city will all redouble our planning efforts for next year’s event to do everything in our power to make sure violence isn’t repeated at the 2020 celebration.”