QUINCY, Wash — The suspect accused of killing two people and injuring two others at a music festival at the Gorge Ampitheatre last weekend was allegedly having a hallucination prior to the deadly shooting, according to court documents.
James M. Kelly, 26, appeared in Grant County Superior Court on Wednesday, and a judge found probable cause to detain him without bail. Kelly is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree assault domestic violence.
The two people killed during the shooting near the Gorge Amphitheatre on June 17 were identified as Josilyn Ruiz, 26, and Brandy Escamilla, 29, of Seattle.
Around 8:20 p.m. on June 17, dispatchers received a 911 call reporting shots fired inside a campground near the Gorge, where an electronic dance music festival was being held.
According to court documents, Kelly was attending the Beyond Wonderland music festival with his girlfriend when he had a dose of "shrooms" and started having hallucinations. Kelly started to think the world was ending. His girlfriend told authorities that Kelly said, "This is the end" and went to grab a gun from his car, according to court documents.
During the hallucination, court documents indicated Kelly fired multiple shots at Ruiz and Escamilla, who were walking in the area of the campground. The two women died at the scene.
Two other people were wounded in the shooting, including Kelly's girlfriend, a 20-year-old Mill Creek resident, and a 31-year-old from Eugene, Oregon. A private security officer responding to the report was struck by a bullet that deflected off her eyeglasses, according to the sheriff. She suffered bruising and lacerations due to the impact but was not seriously hurt.
Kelly's girlfriend called the police after the shots were fired and alerted authorities that he had a gun. She had two gunshot wounds to her lower body and needed treatment at the Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake.
Investigators said the suspect fired shots at a Grant County aerial vehicle while it was airborne before he was found in an agricultural field near the campground. He was taken into custody.
Kelly is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to officials. The 26-year-old man remains in Grant County Jail after being hospitalized for a gunshot wound, according to Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete.
The attorney of one of the victims' families believes Ruiz and her fiancée had no relationship with the shooter.
"They did not know the suspect," said Kevin Boyle of Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP.
Boyle told KING 5 that it is possible that the two young women were killed while they were trying to help another victim.
"And that Josilyn and her fiancée Brandy stepped in to help the victim of the domestic violence," Boyle said. "And then shots started ringing out."
Josilyn Ruiz and Brandy Escamilla
The victims were nurses working at Providence Swedish First Hill Campus. Ruiz graduated from nursing school in 2018. Ruiz's sister-in-law said on a GoFundMe page that Ruiz had a contagious laugh and loved dancing, singing, and attending music festivals.
"The Ruiz family love Josilyn, and they're devastated," Boyle said. "As an attorney, I'm looking into, 'Why did this happen?'"
The Gorge Amphitheater released its first statement since the shooting Wednesday, saying:
"We're incredibly grateful to the first responders who acted quickly to respond to the incident at the campgrounds this past weekend, as well as our broader community for their outpouring of support these last few days.
"Our thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the entire Beyond Wonderland community. We've been working closely with the festival team to assist fans and crew however we can, and we are supporting local authorities as they continue their investigation."
The Gorge went on to say that shows scheduled at the Amphitheater for July 7 are planned to go on as scheduled, and said they would continue to partner with local authorities regarding security plans.