GEORGE, Wash. — Grant County sheriff's deputies arrested a man Friday night at the Gorge Amphitheater that they believe "may have had plans" to commit a mass shooting.
Authorities were notified by security and citizens around 9 p.m. that a man in the parking lot had inhaled an unknown "substance or gas from a balloon" and loaded two 9mm pistols from the trunk of his car.
The man reportedly concealed one of the pistols in his waistband and put the second pistol in an outside-the-waistband holster, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect, a 31-year-old Ephrata man, reportedly approached concertgoers attending the Bass Canyon concert series at the Gorge Amphitheater. According to authorities, the man asked attendees what time the show ended and where people would be exiting the venue.
The man never made it inside the event and was detained and disarmed by authorities outside the venue gates. He eventually was arrested on suspicion of one count of possession of a dangerous weapon and one count of unlawful carrying or handling of a weapon. He is being held in the Grant County Jail.
No one was injured.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect did not make any statements to deputies upon his arrest.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office noted that Friday’s concert was sold out, meaning there were upwards of 25,000 people attending. The Gorge Amphitheater does not allow weapons on site.
“Remember: if you see something, say something,” the sheriff’s office said in the Facebook post. “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.”
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