GEORGE, Wash. (KABC) — The two women who were killed after a shooter started firing “randomly” into a crowd at a Washington state campground that was hosting people attending a nearby music festival were from Southern California.
On Tuesday, authorities identified the victims as 29-year-old Brandy Escamilla and 26-year-old Josilyn Ruiz, both originally from Walnut.
The two were engaged and had just moved to Seattle.
The shooting happened Saturday night at the camping area a few hundred yards from the Gorge Amphitheater, where thousands of people were attending an electronic dance music festival, authorities said. The Gorge is near the small city of George, about 150 miles east of Seattle.
After the initial shots were fired, the suspect started moving through the campground and “continued to shoot randomly into the crowd” until he was eventually confronted by police and taken into custody, said Kyle Foreman, the public information officer with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses said Escamilla and Ruiz were trying to help someone who was reportedly with the gunman.
“They were being Good Samaritans and stepped in to protect the victim of the domestic violence and then Josilyn was shot in the torso and Brandy was shot in the head,” said attorney Kevin Boyle with Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP. “We think that was in retaliation for them trying to assist the victim.”
The suspect was identified as 26-year-old James M. Kelly, an active duty member of the U.S. Army based out of Joint Base Lewis McCord.
According to authorities, Detective Edgar Salazar with the Moses Lake Police Department fired his gun at Kelly that night, striking him one time.
Kelly was was treated by officers on the scene and later taken into custody.
Kelly been booked into the Grant County Jail and is being held on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault domestic violence.
A third victim in the shooting, 31-year-old Andrew J. Caudra of Eugene, Oregon – who also goes by the name of “August Morningstar” – was shot one time in his shoulder and is still receiving treatment. Authorities said he is stable but don’t know if he’s been released from the hospital.
A fourth victim, 61-year-old Lori Williams, who was working with Crowd Management Services that night, responded to the scene in a Polaris Ranger UTV, according to investigators.
During her response, she came across Kelly, who shot in her direction multiple times, authorities said.
Williams was hit by a single bullet that penetrated the windshield of the UTV and struck her in the right side of her face, shattering her glasses and causing bruising and lacerations, investigators said. Williams was treated and later released at the scene.
A fifth victim, 20-year-old Lily A. Luksich of Millcreek, Washington, had attended the concert with Kelly, authorities said.
Luksich was shot twice and has since been released from the hospital. Investigators said they found Kelly and Luksich in a field adjacent to the campground. The nature of their relationship is unknown.
“I want to express my deepest sympathies to the victims, their families, and friends,” said Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete. “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.”
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Lt. Col. Mike Burns told KXLY-TV in a statement Tuesday that the command is aware of the allegations against Kelly.
“We take all allegations seriously and are fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities,” his statement said.
Burns said Kelly is a joint fire support specialist assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment at the military base. It wasn’t immediately known if Kelly has a lawyer to comment on his behalf.
The North Central Washington Special Investigation Unit is investigating the shooting of Kelly by law enforcement officers.
Meanwhile, the family of Ruiz has started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help them during this time.
“Words cannot describe the pain our family and friends are grieving from our precious loss of a wonderful angel,” read the GoFundMe’s description. “There are not enough words to describe the wonderful person she is and the wonderful life she lived.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
