The two victims killed in a shooting at the Gorge Amphitheater campgrounds on Saturday have been identified.
According to a verified GoFundMe, Josilyn Ruiz, 26, and her partner Brandy Escamilla, 29, were shot and killed during the Beyond Wonderland festival on June 17.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Brandy’s family lay her to rest.
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Josilyn was described by her sister-in-law as a daughter, sister, godmother, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, nurse, and fiance.
Born on July 13, 1996, Josilyn would “brighten up the room with her big beautiful eyes, beautiful smile, and contagious laugh.”
Josilyn was a registered nurse and loved to help others, according to the GoFundMe.
She loved her fiance, Brandy, and her cat, Otis. She also loved dancing, singing, attending music festivals, acting, snowboarding, and traveling.
Originally from California, a GoFundMe was set up to help the family get her belongings home and funeral costs.
On Saturday, gunfire erupted in the Gorge Amphitheater campgrounds during Beyond Wonderland, a music festival that sees thousands of attendees.
Two people were killed, and three were hurt, including the suspected shooter.
Kevin Boyle is an attorney and represents the family of Josilyn Ruiz. He said her family is shaken and trying to process the sudden loss. He told KIRO 7 that Josilyn and her fiancé Brandy Escamilla had recently moved to Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The two were both nurses and attended the Beyond Wonderland Festival over the weekend when the unimaginable happened.
“My understanding is that they had actually gone back to the campsite to put on some warmer clothes and unfortunately the shooter opened fire on their campsite and on them,” Boyle said.
KIRO 7 talked with someone who walked around the Gorge Amphitheater around 8:30 p.m. Saturday night when someone suddenly yelled at her to run.
“Walking towards the campsites and out of nowhere people just started bursting out of the bushes and workers were yelling at us live shooter,” said Bella Burnova, who attended Beyond Wonderland. “Everybody froze and then as soon as it clicked in our heads everybody just turned around that was on the path, and we just all just started running away. For the next probably 10-15 minutes we were just running around. I had no idea where I was running to.”
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened at the campgrounds near the amphitheater. They also said the shooter fired twice. The first time he walked away from the area, then when the police closed in he started firing randomly into the crowd.
“There were definitely some people already hysterically crying, and then other people were getting angry,” said Burnova. “He told fellow campers live shooter, run. He told her I just saw a person die in front of me. He yelled at her and continued running basically. That was when I found out, this is actually a lot worse.”
Beyond Wonderland was canceled for the second day. People KIRO 7 talked with at the grounds said they learned of the cancelation around 3 a.m. and Beyond Wonderland tweeted the cancellation around 5 a.m.
The company behind the fest, Insomniac Events, deferred to the police for comment. The company behind the Gorge, Live Nation, didn’t respond to KIRO 7′s request for comment. Several people said this was their first-ever music festival, and it might be their last.
“I would definitely think twice before going to another one without getting an email of some sort of list of genuine precautions a place is taking on security,” Burnova said.
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