An Ephrata man was detained by police after they learned of his alleged plans to carry out a mass shooting at the Gorge Amphitheater on Friday night.
According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO), concertgoers at the “Bass Canyon” concert series alerted security personnel about a strange individual in the parking lot. Witnesses claimed to have seen the man pull two 9mm pistols from his car’s trunk and tuck them both inside his waistband before inhaling an unidentified gas from a balloon.
According to the police, the suspect, 30-year-old Jonathan R. Moody, was moving around the venue and enquiring about the concert’s end time and the location of the exits.
Moody was detained and disarmed by security personnel outside the venue gates. After looking into the event, deputies claim they took him into custody on charges of possessing a dangerous weapon and carrying or handling a weapon without a permit. The Grant County Jail is where Moody is now being held.
The Bass Canyon electronic dance music festival was sold out on Friday night, according to the GCSO, putting the safety of more than 25,000 individuals at danger.
Thank goodness, nobody was hurt.
Authorities are urging concertgoers to follow the same advice they gave on Friday: “See something, say something” as the concert series begins Saturday night.
