2 killed in shooting near Washington state music festival; suspect among wounded

3 wounded, including suspected shooter in officer-involved incident

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two people are dead after shots rang out near the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington while an electronic dance music festival was in progress, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed.

Three people were also wounded in the shooting at a nearby campground, not the concert venue, Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kyle Forman said during a Saturday night press conference. One of those wounded was the suspected shooter, he said.

Forman said the suspected shooter opened fire at the campground shortly before 8:30 p.m. before walking away toward the crowd of festival-goers “several hundred yards away.” When deputies arrived, the suspect continued to “fire randomly into the crowd” before being apprehended.

The suspect was shot in the confrontation with police, Foreman said. The suspect was hospitalized for his injuries, but no further details were immediately released.

It’s not known what type of weapon was used in the shooting, and Forman could not provide the names or ages of anyone involved at this time.

“There will come a time when we have to pass along our investigative information on to the State of Washington’s Office of Independent Investigation, which is a branch of government that is an investigative group that investigates officer-involved shootings in Washington,” he said.

The Saturday concert, Beyond Wonderland, continued as scheduled, officials said. Beyond Wonderland is a 2-day EDM festival that features dozens of acts in sold-out performances.

Organizers of the Beyond Wonderland electronic music festival said on social media that Sunday’s events at the Gorge were canceled.

The Gorge is near the small city of George, about 150 miles east of Seattle.

One year ago

Last August at another electronic dance music festival, Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a man from carrying out what they believed were plans to commit a mass shooting at the Gorge Amphitheater.

Witnesses that night saw a 31-year-old man inhale an unknown substance or gas from a balloon and then load two 9mm pistols from the trunk of his car. The sheriff’s office said the suspect never made it inside the venue. Security stopped him outside the gates and disarmed him of his two pistols.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.