Attendees of this year's Beyond Wonderland festival were baffled after it was reported that a shooting incident took place at the event's grounds. More recently, the event's CEO issued a statement to explain why their team decided to continue the festival even after the deaths of two people.
Taking to his official Instagram account, Pasquale Rotella, the CEO of Insomniac Events, shared an explanation as well as to extend their condolences to the victims' families which he considers a "heartbreaking tragedy."
Further into the post, he clarified that the shooting incident took place in "the furthest campground from The Gorge Amphitheatre" and it is located over half a mile outside the perimeter of the main festival location.
He also noted that the shocking incident is an "isolated situation" that escalated which led the assailant to leave the premises, but an officer-involved shooting "neutralized the threat."
Beyond Wonderland Continued Despite Shooting Incident
Rotella went on to address why his team decided to continue the event even after the shooting and he's speaking out after many questioned his decision.
The main reason is at the "request of law enforcement once it became evident that there was no ongoing threat to the safety of attendees."
With that being said, he clarified that they ensured the majority of festivalgoers were not close to the area where the shooting incident happened because their staff worked with local authorities to secure the location and at the same time, preserve it for investigation.
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Now that the event is over, Rotella said he wanted to thank the artists and staff who "remained calm and ensured the show continued." He also expressed his gratitude to the Insomniac first responder team for their professionalism. (via Billboard)
Lastly, the CEO said the tragedy deeply affected him because as the event's organizer, he wanted to bring people together and celebrate their love for music.
"Please take care of yourselves and continue spreading love and support to one another," he noted.
What Happened to Beyond Wonderland?
According to Billboard, two people were dead and three others were injured after a shooting incident that happened on June 17, 2023, at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington.
It was previously reported that the tragic incident happened around 8:30 in the evening in the camping area of the festival and the assailant used their firearm to fire at random people.
As of this writing, the suspect and victims' identities have not been made public.
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