Police in Grant County, Washington—the location of Excision's sold-out Bass Canyon Festival—believe they averted a shooting on Friday evening. The department reported in a Facebook post that they arrested a man from Ephrata, Washington for possession of a dangerous weapon and unlawful carrying and handling of a weapon. The suspect, 30- year-old, Jonathan R. Moody, is now in Grant County Jail.
Around 9 pm on Friday, festival-goers and security notified police of a suspicious man in the parking lot. Bass Canyon attendees told police that he inhaled an unknown substance from a balloon and then loaded two 9mm pistols in the trunk of his car.
He concealed the weapons. One in the rear waistband of his pants, the other in a holster, and proceeded to question festival attendees about when Bass Canyon would end for the night and where people would be exiting from. He did not make it inside the venue. Security detained him and disarmed him.
At the time, Bass Canyon was on its first sold-out night with 25,000 in attendance. The Gorge Amphitheater does not allow weapons on site.
In their statement, the Grant County Sherriff's Office explained, "Moody’s possession of weapons was not the lone factor for his arrest. Moody’s actions of appearing to inhale an intoxicant, loading weapons in the parking lot, and his questions about where concertgoers would be exiting and at what time, furthered the suspicions of witnesses and deputies. Additionally, Moody did not make any statements to deputies."
The statement said no one was injured and pointed out that the department was only called onsite after someone reported something wildly out of place.
"If you see something, say something," the statement continued. "Citizens saw something completely out of place for the circumstances and notified security, who in turn notified deputies. That combination of situational awareness along with noticing 'something does not fit,' resulted in a possible tragedy being prevented. Thank you to the concertgoers who reported this man, and to venue security for keeping the man from getting inside the concert venue."
At the time of reporting, Bass Canyon had not yet made a statement.
