The 26-year-old suspected of killing two women and injuring three others on Saturday at the Gorge Amphitheatre was allegedly experiencing hallucinations after taking psychedelic mushrooms, according to probable cause documents filed Wednesday in Grant County Superior Court.
The suspect, an active duty member of the U.S. Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, allegedly shot and killed two women, seriously injured his girlfriend and another festival goer, and also caused minor injuries to an employee. A detective eventually shot him in a field next to the campground and police arrested him.
The Seattle Times typically does not name suspects until they have been charged.
The hospital released the suspect on Tuesday and police booked him into the Grant County Jail for investigation of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree domestic violence assault.
On June 17, the suspect traveled with his 20-year-old girlfriend to the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival that thousands of people attend each year, which was held this year at The Gorge in Central Washington, alongside the Columbia River. That evening he took a dose of mushrooms before they walked to the concert venue, according to probable cause documents.
Once at the venue, the suspect began feeling the effects, a detective wrote.
"As [the suspect'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 [his girlfriend]," documents say.
At their campsite, the suspect grabbed a handgun from their truck, loaded a magazine and chambered a cartridge, probable cause documents say.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz, the engaged Seattle couple the suspect fatally shot, were walking through the Gorge campground and came across the suspect, according to court documents.
The suspect shot Escamilla and Ruiz, documents say. Both died at the scene.
A 31-year-old man from Eugene, Ore., who headed to the suspect's location upon hearing gunfire, also was shot and seriously injured, according to court documents. On Tuesday, police said he was in stable condition.
As the suspect moved through the campground, his girlfriend called 911 and told dispatch he had a gun, but the suspect took her phone and discarded it before she could give more information, documents say.
Near the outer fence line of the campground, the suspect shot at a vehicle carrying Crowd Management Services employees who were responding to reports of gunfire. One bullet went through the windshield and hit her glasses, bruising and cutting her, probable cause documents say.
A Grant County Sheriff's Office drone spotted them in a field next to the campground, according to court documents. The suspect allegedly shot at it.
The suspect also shot his girlfriend in the foot and upper leg, police wrote. The young woman is in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center.
When officers encountered the suspect, Moses Lake Police Department Detective Edgar Salazar fired his gun, hitting the suspect once. Salazar has been placed on administrative leave, per standard procedure, Wenatchee Police Department Capt. Brian Chance said in a news release.
It's unclear how the suspect was able to get a weapon inside the campgrounds. Police did not release further details Wednesday. The Gorge Amphitheatre website states firearms and weapons "of any description" are not allowed in the venue or on campgrounds.
The suspect joined the Army in 2021. He is a joint fire support specialist assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, said Lt. Col. Mike Burns, a spokesperson with U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The command takes allegations very seriously and is cooperating with authorities, Burns said.
The two women who died were high school sweethearts from the greater Los Angeles area who had recently moved to Seattle to pursue their nursing careers. They had plans to get married in Greece and had scheduled a trip in October to scout a wedding venue.
Alejandra Escamilla, a family member of Brandy Escamilla, described her as a kind and caring person who was passionate about helping others and making a difference in the world.
Brandy Escamilla, a nurse, enjoyed going on adventures with her fiancée Josilyn Ruiz and their cat Otis, Alejandra Escamilla wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral costs, bring her belongings to family in California and other unexpected costs.
"She was a huge light in our lives with a lot of goals and ambitions to look forward to," Alejandra Escamilla wrote. "We cannot put into words the pain our family is enduring."
Josilyn Ruiz was also a nurse who held "an immense passion" for helping others, wrote Leilani Ruiz, Josilyn's sister-in-law, in another GoFundMe page for Josilyn. Leinali Ruiz outlined the traits Josilyn embodied: courage, kindness and adventurousness.
"There are not enough words to describe the wonderful person she is and the wonderful life she lived."
Kevin Boyle, an attorney for the Ruiz family, said Brandy and Josilyn's families have been in communication since the shooting.
"They had a dinner reservation at a restaurant in Seattle coming up," Boyle said. "It was going to be both sets of parents and the two women ... and the parents are going to try to go to the restaurant in Seattle and make the reservation."
