Beyond Wonderland Suspect Blames Mass Shooting On Bad Shroom Trip
The Beyond Wonderland shooting suspect, recently identified as 26-year-old active-duty US Army member James M. Kelly, has given testimony stating he was high on mushrooms and experiencing a bad trip when he opened fire at the campground on the site of the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington state, killing two and injuring three. According to local news outlets, Kelly told investigators he had traveled to the EDM festival with his girlfriend, and they set up a tent at the Gorge campground. On Saturday evening, he says he took a dose of mushrooms before heading to the venue.
While he and his girlfriend were at the concert, Kelly says he began experiencing negative side effects, hallucinating that the world was ending. He apparently then got his handgun from his truck, loaded it, and started shooting. His girlfriend, Lily Luksich, called 911, telling the operator her “man had a gun,” though Kelly grabbed her phone out of her hand and threw it. Kelly also fired a shot at Luksich’s foot and a second into her upper leg; court documents state that the second shot was life-threatening and have resulted in permanent injury.
Kelly is being held without bond and is scheduled for arraignment on July 5.