Man Detained After Gun Threat at Excision’s Bass Canyon Music Festival: Report

Editor’s Note [August 20th, 2022, 7:27pm]: This report has been updated to include a statement from a representative of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, who, when reached for comment, was unable to confirm whether or not the suspect was planning a mass shooting. The department had released a public statement on Saturday, August 20th at 12:24pm, which reported its deputies believed a “mass shooting [was] avoided at Gorge Amphitheater.”

According to a report by local authorities, Washington police detained a man who they believe “may have had plans to commit a mass shooting” at this year’s Bass Canyon, an electronic music festival in Washington that attracts roughly 25,000 people.

Jonathan R. Moody, a 30-year-old man from Ephrata, was reportedly spotted in the parking lot outside the festival grounds at 9pm on Friday night inhaling an “unknown substance” from a balloon before loading and concealing two 9mm pistols around his waist. Later, Moody is said to have approached Bass Canyon attendees to inquire when the festival would end and where people would exit.

When authorities were alerted of the suspicious activity, the venue’s security disarmed and detained Moody outside the venue gates, police say. Moody was then arrested on suspicion of one count of possession of a dangerous weapon and one count of unlawful carrying or handling of a weapon.

No one was injured, according to the report from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. When reached for comment, Kyle Foreman, the department’s Public Information Officer, said Moody had not yet made a statement revealing plans to commit a mass shooting.

“The suspect has made no statement to us,” Foreman told EDM.com. “His behavior raised red flags for concertgoers who alerted security who then alerted deputies.”

You can read the initial report from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office below.