Brandy Escamilla (left) and Josilyn Ruiz (right) were identified as the victims killed in a shooting at a music festival in Washington (Pictures: GoFundMe/KIRO7)
The two victims who were shot and killed at a campground outside a music festival in Washington were identified as a young couple who recently got engaged.
Authorities in western Washington have identified the suspected shooter and victims who were injured after gunfire erupted near the Gorge Amphitheatre on Saturday.
The venue was hosting the Beyond Wonderland music festival, and the shooting took place at an ‘overflow campsite’ for festivalgoers.
The gunman was identified as James Kelly, a 26-year-old active duty soldier in the US Army stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington.
Ruiz (pictured) and Escamilla had recently gotten engaged (Provider: GoFundMe)
The two victims killed were identified by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office as Brandy Escamilla, 29, and Josilyn Ruiz, 26.
Escamilla and Ruiz had both travelled to the festival in western Washington from their home in Seattle. Their families described them as high school sweethearts who had recently gotten engaged.
Ruiz’s younger sister Julia described the couple as ‘soulmates,’ and told Rolling Stone that the couple’s relationship was ‘unconditional and unbreakable, something so profound that I always envied.’
The families of both victims have started GoFundMe campaigns in their honor.
Both Escamilla (pictured) and Ruiz worked as travel nurses in Seattle, their families said (Picture: GoFundMe)
Another three victims were injured by the shooter, the Sheriff’s Office said. The first was identified as Andrew Caudra, 31, who was once in his left shoulder. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
The second was identified as 61-year-old Lori Williams, a security guard working for the private security firm Crowd Management Services, who was contracted to by the festival.
The shooter fired ‘multiple’ rounds at Williams, one of which struck her face after shattering the windshield of her Polaris Ranger vehicle. She was treated at the scene and released.
Ruiz and Escamilla were described as ‘soulmates’ who met in high school in southern California (Picture: Facebook)
The fifth victim was 20-year-old Lily Luksich of Millcreek, Massachusetts, who police said attended the festival with Kelly. Luksich was found with two gunshot wounds to her ‘lower extremities,’ the Sheriff’s Office said.
Responding officers found Kelly and Luksich in the middle of an ‘agricultural field adjacent to the campground.’ A police detective from Moses Lake, Washington took Kelly into custody after shooting him a single time.
Both Kelly and Luksich were hospitalized, and have since been released. Kelly was immediately booked at Grant County Jail and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault-domestic violence.
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Their families described them as high school sweethearts who had recently gotten engaged.