A couple who were killed Saturday night in a Washington state music festival shooting were originally from Southern California, the law firm representing their families confirmed Wednesday.
Brandy Escamilla, 29, hailed from Norwalk; Josilyn Ruiz, 26, was from Walnut, according to the Los Angeles-based firm, Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP. They got engaged last January and had relocated to Seattle over a year ago, the firm said, adding that both women were nurses.
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Escamilla and Ruiz were shot by a 26-year-old man who opened fire Saturday night near the Gorge Amphitheatre, a venue about 150 miles east of Seattle, during the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival, authorities said.
Three other people were injured in the shooting. The shooter is an active member of the U.S. Army and has been taken into custody.
Kevin Boyle, an attorney for the families, is in the early stages of investigating the shooting but no lawsuit has been filed as of Wednesday, June 21, the firm said. The firm is also working to uncover how a gun made its way into the venue.
“The families of the victims are suffering intensely. They are not litigious people, and they are not after money, but they do want to know why this happened and how it can be prevented in the future,” Boyle said in a statement.
In a GoFundMe page, Escamilla was remembered as “the kind of person that would light up a room with her energy and her beautiful smile.” Ruiz was memorialized in a separate GoFundMe as “bubbly and full of joy” with a “brave heart.”
