Three Killed as Shooter Opens Fire Outside EDM Festival at Washington’s Gorge; Suspect in Custody
At a press conference in the nearby town of George at 11:30 p.m., a sheriff’s representative confirmed the two deaths but did not release the names of any of those killed or injured, pending an ongoing investigation. The spokesman said that, when law enforcement arrived on the scene, the suspect continued to “fire randomly into the crowd” before being apprehended. The nature of the shooter’s injuries were not revealed, nor were the conditions of the two survivors of the gunfire.
Earlier, the sheriff’s office tweeted that Saturday’s concert would continue to proceed uninterrupted. Campground is about a 20-to-30-minute walk from the entrance to the amphitheater.
According to the sheriff, reports of a shooter came in from the campground at about 8:25 p.m., and officers “pursued (and) closed-in on the suspect.”
Prior to announcing that a suspect was in custody, an initial tweet from the sheriff’s office declared that an “active shooter” was on the grounds and urged everyone at the Gorge to take cover, although few inside the concert seemed to have gotten that message before it was revoked.
Fox3 News in Seattle reported that “according to sources, suspect was targeting the staff,” but that was not addressed in the press conference.
Beyond Wonderland is a two-day EDM festival with dozens of performers. Many of the 27,000 expected to attend each day stay on-site at the campground, since there are few hotels closer than 45 minutes away and the Gorge is about a three-hour drive from either of the two nearest cities, Seattle and Spokane.
At the Gorge campground entrances, cars and RVs coming in are stopped and checked by dogs sniffing for explosives, but concertgoers don’t have to pass through metal detectors until they leave the campgrounds and arrive at the venue.
Artists set to appear at Beyond Wonderland over the two days include Marshmello, Afrojack, Dillion Francis, Joyryde, Subtronics, Hyperfunk, DJ Alex Bosi, Audien, Zomboy, Nitti, Pauline Herr, Remk, Timmy Trumpet and Slander. There was no immediate word on whether the second day of performances would be affected.
