The suspect in the horrifying shooting at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington state on Saturday, June 17, has been identified as a 26-year-old active-duty member of the US Army. Spc. James M. Kelly shot two people dead, and injured three others, at the venue where the Beyond Wonderland festival was taking place. He was taken into custody at the time
James was reportedly stationed at the Joint Base Lewis McChord. He was arrested after being shot and wounded by an undercover police detective who once served in the US Marines, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office.
Police were called on the day of the shooting after an “active shooter” was spotted at the campground of the outdoor venue near Quincy, in Grant County. The place is about 113 miles southeast of Seattle.
New court filings out of Grant County have now revealed that James was high on mushrooms when the shooting took place, according to KOMO News. Once the drugs kicked in, the gunman apparently thought “the world was ending.” Criminal charging papers state that he told his girlfriend they needed to get back to the campground, and he subsequently returned to his truck, pulled out a handgun and went on to carry out the shooting.
According to prosecutors, James’ girlfriend dialled 911 but he grabbed her phone and tossed it into the field. James took her into a field and shot her twice in the legs, prosecutors said.
{{/usCountry}}According to prosecutors, James’ girlfriend dialled 911 but he grabbed her phone and tossed it into the field. James took her into a field and shot her twice in the legs, prosecutors said.
{{/usCountry}}A judge has ordered that James be held in jail without bail. He is expected to be back in court for an arraignment hearing on June 5.
Who were the victims of the shooting?
The two women who were shot dead by James have been identified as 29-year-old Brandy Escamilla and her fiancée, Josilyn Ruiz, 26. Both of them were from Seattle. According to KABC, James killed the pair after they intervened in a dispute between him and someone else.
Brandy and Josilyn’s friend, Devon Breithart, took to Facebook to pay tribute to them. “Josilyn and Brandy fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. They loved getting outdoors, especially if meant snowboarding, kayaking, or just watching the sun go down at Sunset Hill Park. As they came up on a full year of travel here in Seattle, we were so sad about the thought of losing them to another city,” Devon wrote in a long Facebook post.
She added, “But we didn't. They decided to stay here for the foreseeable future, and even continued to rent the same unit in our building. We were so grateful and continued trading off watching each other's cats, sharing homemade food, and running into each other around Ballard. Truly the best kind of neighbors that you could ask for.”
“I can't express to you how devastating the following hours and days were, and I won't waste words here trying to do so. I want this post to focus on how amazing and beautiful they were rather than my experience of the aftermath. And while I still can't believe I have to lose both of them at the same time, part of me is grateful I don't have to watch one of them attempt to survive without the other. Their love for each other was so damn deep and it breaks me when I think about not being able to see it continue,” Devon said.
GoFundMe pages have been set up for both Brandy and Josilyn. “One of the hardest parts of this situation is knowing our friendship had so much left in store. We knew Josilyn and Brandy for a relatively short time compared to the many, many people that loved them, but we were already so enamored with them. There were so many things in the future of our friendship just waiting to unfold: kayaking outings, buffalo wings, hikes, sunsets, brewery visits, pride events, weekend trips, Halloween costumes, restaurants, cat playdates, reality show gossip, coffees, and I'm sure more that we hadn't even conceived of yet. It crushes me to see it all prematurely cut short,” Devon said, adding, “Hold your friends close. Tell them that you love them. And don't miss an opportunity to connect with them.”
The wounded survivors of the shooting have been identified as 31-year-old Andrew "August Morningstar" Caudra of Eugene, Oregon; 20-year-old Lily A. Luksich of Millcreek, Washington; and 61-year-old Lori Williams, who was working as a security guard at the music festival at the time of the tragedy.