Beyond Wonderland Shooting Suspect Was Tripping on Mushrooms During Attack

The suspect in the horrific shooting at Insomniac’s Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge, 26-year-old James M. Kelly admitted to being high on mushrooms during the fatal attack.

Police have identified a suspect in the Beyond Wonderland shooting: James M. Kelly, who was an active duty U.S. Army member stationed at Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord when the incident occurred. Kelly allegedly shot and killed two festival attendees, engaged couple Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz, and shot and injured three others. Among those hurt was his girlfriend, Lily Luksich who was shot twice in the lower extremities.

According to a report by King5, Kelly allegedly told Lily “this is the end” before the shooting spree, and reached for his handgun which was inside of his vehicle. He said he believed the world was ending and admitted to being hallucinating on mushrooms during the attack. 

Washington State Patrol Detective Sergeant David Kiehl commented on the events: “As Kelly’s hallucination ‘trip’ got going, he began to believe that the world was ending and that he needed to return to his camp immediately with Luksich, Kelly and Luksich hurried back to their campsite. During that time, Luksich said Kelly made multiple statements to the effect of ‘this is the end.'”

KOMO News reported that Kelly was booked at Grant County Jail where he currently is being held on two counts of murder, two counts of assault, and one count of assault domestic violence. 

The dance music community is saddened by this senseless act of violence to this community. GoFundMes have been started for the victims, respectively. We’ve linked them all here on our Twitter page.

Pasquale Rotella, Insomniac CEO and Founder issued a lengthy statement in response to the attack. In it, he said, “It’s painful to even try to comprehend their [Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz] irreplaceable loss.” Meanwhile, many emotions are still being felt by members of the EDM community.

Featured image courtesy NY Daily News

Ashley

I’ve been a part of the dance music scene for nearly a decade and with Exron for more than half of that time. My first event was Diplo’s Mad Decent but these days you’ll find me at Club Space or the Brooklyn Mirage. Some of my top artists are G Jones, Tipper, Of The Trees, and CharlestheFirst. My favorite genres are techno, experimental bass, and ambient but I’ll get down to anything with a beat!

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