Violence broke out in a campground outside the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State on Saturday night as concerts for the Beyond Wonderland festival were still taking place inside the stadium. Multiple gunshot injuries were reportedly being treated as a result. Local officials announced the capture of a suspect after early reports of an active shooter.
Prior to a scheduled news conference for law enforcement at 11:30 p.m. PT, no information on the victims' conditions was disclosed. The Grant County Sheriff's Office, however, tweeted at 10:52 p.m.: "We have five verified injuries. In custody is the suspect. The area has been made secure.
The sheriff's office also stated that the concert on Saturday, which is taking place approximately a 20 to 30-minute walk from the campground, is going ahead without a hitch.
The sheriff said that at around 8:25 p.m., reports of a gunman came in from the campsite and that authorities "pursued (and) closed in on the suspect."
An original tweet from the sheriff's office stated that there was an "active shooter" on the premises and advised everyone at the Gorge to take shelter before it was revealed that a suspect had been taken into custody.
The "incident" was euphemistically alluded to in the first message from the festival's Twitter account. The Gorge Gate H campsites area is currently closed due to an incident that has been dealt with by local authorities, as stated in an earlier tweet from the event organisers. The campers and festival-goers are not currently in risk.
"According to sources, the suspect was targeting the staff," which has not been officially confirmed by law enforcement.
Numerous artists will be performing at the two-day EDM extravaganza Beyond Wonderland. Since there aren't many motels within a 45-minute drive and it takes approximately three hours to get between the Gorge and either of the two closest towns, Seattle or Spokane, many of the 27,000 people anticipated to attend each day choose to camp on-site.
The "Joni Jam" performance, one of three Brandi Carlile concerts, held at the Gorge last weekend garnered national attention and went off without a hitch.
Cars and RVs entering the Gorge campsites are stopped and searched by dogs that are trained to smell for explosives, but concertgoers are exempt from this requirement until they leave the campgrounds and arrive at the arena.
Marshmello, Afrojack, Dillion Francis, Joyryde, Subtronics, Hyperfunk, DJ Alex Bosi, Audien, Zomboy, Nitti, Pauline Herr, Remk, Timmy Trumpet, and Slander are among the performers scheduled to perform at Beyond Wonderland throughout the course of the two days. On whether Sunday's second day of performances will go on, there was no immediate news.