Sheriff’s Department Seeks Information Regarding Assaults At Phish Concert At The Gorge

Following social media accounts of two concert-goers being victims of physical assault during one of Phish’s performances at The Gorge in Washington state, the local Grant County Sheriff’s Department confirmed two men were treated for injuries. According to a department press release, “a 46-year-old man from Washington state and a 38-year-old man from Colorado, each suffered head injuries and were transported to regional hospitals for treatment.”

Grant County Sheriff’s Department detectives are asking for anyone who witnessed the alleged assaults to come forward with information relating to either incident. The department’s press release states, “one victim is hospitalized in stable condition, the other was treated and released.” The department can be reached by calling 509-762-1160 or emailing crimetips@grantcountywa.gov.

Live For Live Music reports, Grant County Sheriff’s Department public information officer Kyle Foreman stated there currently are no suspects in the alleged attacks. He confirmed the two incidents occurred at different parts of the venue, far apart from each other. L4LM received “no comment” when trying to reach The Gorge for a statement about the purported violence.

Today, in a publicly shared Facebook post, Samir Poles described being one of the victims of assault at Saturday’s Phish concert at The Gorge. There are currently two GoFundMe pages (here and here) setup to help with Poles’ medical costs. His post can be read here:

The full statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office:

Detectives with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office are investigating two assaults which happened during Saturday’s Phish concert at the Gorge Amphitheater near George, Washington.

Sheriff’s deputies were notified Saturday evening of two assault victims who had been brought to the medical tent at the venue. The victims, a 46-year-old man from Washington state and a 38-year-old man from Colorado, each suffered head injuries and were transported to regional hospitals for treatment. One victim is hospitalized in stable condition, the other was treated and released.

What is known so far is that the victims were assaulted around the same time, but at locations far apart from one another inside the concert venue; one victim was down near the stage, the other up high on the hill above. Both victims were struck with rocks. Neither victim can identify their assailant. The victims do not know each other.

Although there was a great deal of chatter and speculation on social media platforms, detectives are asking anyone who witnessed first-hand either of the assaults to contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Office at 509-762-1160, or send information to crimetips@grantcountywa.gov.