The Beyond Wonderland Festival 2023 was marred with a traumatic encounter - an active shooter on the loose last Saturday, Jun. 17, 2023.
Apparently, the shooter has already been identified, and the reason why the suspect did it was to be considered careless, ridiculous, and very damaging.
Beyond Wonderland Shooter Identity Revealed
According to ABC7, the Beyond Wonderland Festival shooter was 26-year-old James M. Kelly, an active US Army member based out of Joint Base Lewis McCord. As he was being pursued by police officers and was struck once, the shooter continued to fire randomly into the crowd, resulting in injuring his girlfriend and claiming the lives of two more.
Turns out, Kelly was a festivalgoer. He and his girlfriend set up camp on the festival grounds on Friday and returned on Saturday. But before returning to the venue, like most festival practices, Kelly took a dose of mushrooms, as reported by KHQ.
However, things started going south when the "bad trip" started feeling real. According to Kelly, he thought that there was some sort of apocalypse and the world was ending. He then hurried back to his pickup track and pulled out his handgun while repeatedly saying "This is the end."
His girlfriend contacted 911, which prompted Kelly to shoot her in the foot, and one in the leg which was considered to be life-threatening and would very much leave permanent damage on her.
Kelly is now being charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault domestic violence.
READ ALSO: Beyond Wonderland Shooting Leads to Intensified Security Presence at Electric Forest 2023: Report
Beyond Wonderland Victims
According to KHQ, the two victims of Kelly have already been named - 29-year-old Brandy Escamilla and 26-year-old Josilyn Ruiz. They were on the receiving end of Kelly's bullets and were both pronounced dead on arrival.
Another festivalgoer was injured because of Kelly's actions. Andrew Caudra approached Kelly but he strike back and fired a bullet in his shoulder, which reportedly caused serious injuries. A crowd management employee was also shot as they tried to intercept Kelly.
"I want to express my deepest sympathies to the victims, their families, and friends. This is a tragic incident, and I know that I speak for my staff when I say that we are holding you in our thoughts," Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete said in a statement.
READ ALSO: Beyond Wonderland Shooting Update: Survivor Launches GoFundMe To Treat Gunshot Wound
