Suspect detained after shooting near Stateline Speedway in Post Falls area

Deputies and Post Falls police were already near Stateline Speedway when gunfire erupted beside one of Kootenai County’s busiest event sites, turning a crowded Lantern Festival into a shooting scene near North Beck Road.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office received reports of the shooting about 7:10 p.m. May 9 in unincorporated Kootenai County, just outside Post Falls and near the Idaho-Washington border. The office later posted a public update May 13 saying a suspect had been detained and that there was no ongoing threat to the public, though investigators kept part of the roadway in their processing area for a time.

Court-record-based reporting identified the suspect as Edsel Robert Johnson and the victim as Bradley Rex, also identified in some reports as Bradley Allen Rex. The shooting was tied to a dispute that escalated as Johnson tried to drive through a crowded area, with media accounts saying he was working as a DoorDash driver and was delivering baby formula at the time.

Johnson was charged with first-degree murder, reckless driving and battery. He made his first court appearance May 11 and was later held on $2 million bail at a May 12 hearing before First District Judge James Combo. The case remains active as investigators and prosecutors sort out the details of how the confrontation unfolded in a place where families and festivalgoers had gathered.

Stateline Speedway is a familiar landmark for Post Falls-area residents, with racing, festivals and large-scale events drawing crowds to the North Beck Road corridor. The May 9 Night Lights, or Sky Lantern Festival, at MØDE Stadium Stateline Speedway was described in event listings as a public gathering with live music, food vendors, outdoor activities and thousands of lanterns. The shooting has put a sharp focus on how law enforcement, traffic flow and crowd control will be handled at future events in the same spot.