Two Dead, Three Injured as Shooter Opens Fire Outside Washington’s Gorge; Day 2 of EDM Festival Canceled – Variety
by June 4, 2024 By Chris Willman
Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic
UPDATED: Two people were killed and three injured Saturday night as violence broke out in a campground at the site of the Gorge amphitheater in Washington state. The shootings occurred while performances were still going on inside the venue as part of Beyond Wonderland, an EDM music festival. A suspect was apprehended and was among the three people reported injured.
Early Sunday morning, the festival tweeted that the second day of the festival would be canceled, after attendees were alerted via a push notification on the festival app. On Saturday night, the music had continued at Beyond Wonderland despite the tragic violence nearby.
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At a press conference in the nearby town of George at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, 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.
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The sheriff’s rep said his department was not at liberty to reveal certain aspects of the shooting investigation, but added in response to a reporter’s question that there was no known motive at this time.
Earlier on Saturday evening, the sheriff’s office announced that Saturday’s concert would continue, uninterrupted. The campground is about a 20-to-30-minute walk from the entrance to the amphitheater.
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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urged everyone at the Gorge to take cover, although few inside the concert seemed to have gotten that message before it was revoked.
The festival’s Twitter account referred to the “incident” euphemistically in an initial tweet. “Please avoid the Gorge Gate H campgrounds area as it is closed due to an incident that has been handled by local authorities,” read a tweet from the festival producers, earlier. “There is no current danger to festival goers or the campgrounds.”
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.
On Sunday morning, the festival tweeted: “Due to the incident that took place in the overflow camping area last night, we regret to inform you that day 2 of Beyond Wonderland has been canceled. 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 this tragic event.”
Last weekend, the Gorge made national news under happier circumstances as the site of the “Joni Jam” featuring Joni Mitchell, one of three Brandi Carlile-hosted concerts, which proceeded without incident.
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 included Marshmello, Afrojack, Dillion Francis, Joyryde, Subtronics, Hyperfunk, DJ Alex Bosi, Audien, Zomboy, Nitti, Pauline Herr, Remk, Timmy Trumpet and Slander.
The festival told concertgoers early Sunday that, despite the cancellation of the second day of performances, campgrounds would remain open through Monday at noon for those who still require a place to stay, except for the closed-off area immediately surrounding the shooting site.
Everyone at the Gorge, Beyond is cancelled tomorrow. Please get some rest and take care of yourselves 💕 pic.twitter.com/30tWmCcK7g
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