Update 2: The Grant County Sheriff’s Office has released a full detailing of the events that transpired the night of the shooting. New information includes the revelation of a 5th victim, Lori Williams of Crowd Management Services, who was hit by a bullet through her windshield during the shooting.
The statement also reveals the shooter was pursued and brought into custody by Detective Edgar Salazar, who was working in an undercover capacity at the festival.
Update: The identities of the victims and shooter have been revealed by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. “The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old James M. Kelly of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The two victims are 29-year-old Brandy Escamilla and 26-year-old Josilyn Ruiz, both from Seattle.”
Two other people, 31-year-old Andrew Cuadra of Eugene, OR, and 20-year-old Lily Luksich of Mill Creek, WA, sustained gunshot wounds and are recovering in local hospitals or have been released.
There is no further information about the shooter’s motives. Dual investigations are underway by North Central Washington Special Investigation Unit and U.S. Army Special Operations Command while Kelly, currently in Grant County Jail, awaits consideration on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault domestic violence.
Two people were killed in a shooting at the Gorge Amphitheater campground Saturday night during Beyond Wonderland. Three others (including the shooter) are reported injured and a suspect is in custody, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office first sent out a warning just before 9 p.m., telling attendees at the Gorge that there as an active shooter, and advising them to seek cover. An update was sent out an hour later stating that the shooter was actually at the campgrounds, not inside the venue, and that he was in police custody.
Saturday’s remaining performances continued after showrunner Insomniac Events and the County Sheriffs confirmed there was no additional danger to attendees, however access to the Gate H campgrounds (where the shooting took place) were closed as authorities worked to secure the area.
Please avoid the Gorge Gate H campgrounds area as it is closed due to an incident that has been handled by local authorities. There is no current danger to festival goers or the campgrounds.
— Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge (@BeyondWlandPNW) June 18, 2023
Around 7am on Sunday morning, Insomniac notified all concertgoers via social media that the remainder of the event had been cancelled. “We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the local authorities and staff who acted quickly to manage the situation. Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the family, friends and all those affected by the tragic event.”
Attendees were also informed that they would be able to stay inside the Gorge campgrounds until mid-day on Monday. The video below was taken during the announcement early Sunday morning.
Details of the shooting, such as the identity or motives of the shooter, have been hard to come by. “We don’t know what the motives were or what the intentions were of the shooter,” said Grant County Sheriff’s Office PIO Kyle Foreman. “We’ll have to wait and see if we can find that information out later on.”
Dance Music Northwest has spoken with several of the performers at Beyond Wonderland who expressed that festival officials and local authorities were forthcoming with the information they did have, and most performers were able to make arrangements to depart the venue early Sunday morning. Many of the artists expressed their disbelief and heartbreak on social media.
In August of last year, Grant County authorities responded to a similar but ultimately non-lethal situation during Bass Canyon. A concertgoer was seen “inhaling an unknown substance from a balloon” and loading a weapon.
As many Beyond Wonderland attendees make their way back home from Washington State’s premiere concert venue, it is important to put these terrible events into context. Mass shooting tragedies are occurring with alarming regularity, with CBS News reporting that 263 mass shootings had occurred in the United States by the end of May…roughly 1.75 per day.
This is a developing story. We will update our article with more information as we receive it. If you have new information related to the shooting, please email hello@dancemusicnw.com
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