A DoorDash delivery driver is behind bars after allegedly killing a man in front of thousands of festival-goers — and then calling 911 himself to report the shooting, telling dispatchers he “didn’t want to shoot him but had stuff to do.”
Edsel Robert Johnson, 32, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, reckless driving, and battery in the death of Bradley Allen Rex, according to court records. The fatal confrontation unfolded shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho, where thousands had gathered for the Night Lights Sky Lantern Festival.
Key facts at a glance
- Victim: Bradley Allen Rex, shot in front of his wife and thousands of witnesses
- Suspect: Edsel Robert Johnson, 32, DoorDash driver; currently held without bond
- Location: Night Lights Sky Lantern Festival, Post Falls, Idaho
- Charges: First-degree murder, reckless driving, battery
- Johnson called 911 himself after the shooting
According to a probable cause affidavit, witnesses reported seeing Johnson driving a silver van the wrong way down a pedestrian-packed road at high speed, honking repeatedly. Most bystanders scrambled out of his path — but Rex, who was present with his wife, reportedly stood his ground.
Rex’s wife told investigators her husband was trying to protect other bystanders from the erratic driver. As the van moved past on the shoulder, Rex allegedly swung a folding chair at the side of the vehicle.
“He was pulling my door. What was I supposed to do?” — Edsel Johnson, to detectives
What followed, witnesses say, was swift and brutal. Johnson allegedly stopped the van, got out, and attacked Rex — punching him and, according to one witness, “body slamming” him into a ditch. Johnson then returned to the driver’s seat. When an unarmed Rex approached the driver’s side window, Johnson allegedly fired a single shot through the open window and drove away.
The moment was captured on video by multiple witnesses. Footage reportedly shows Rex falling down an embankment, then walking toward the van — before Johnson’s hand appears at the window holding a small black object. Rex collapses.
‘I messed up. This should not have happened.’
Johnson reportedly called 911 himself after fleeing, claiming Rex had struck his vehicle first. In later interviews with detectives, he acknowledged that his own impatience had driven the encounter to its fatal conclusion.
“Why didn’t he just get out of my way?” Johnson allegedly asked investigators — adding that while he felt bad, the “dude is dead over nothing.”
Johnson told police he was mid-delivery — transporting baby formula — when things “got crazy.” He admitted to slamming Rex to the ground and said when Rex ran back toward his door, he “reacted. Bad.”
“I have no idea why I did that,” Johnson reportedly said.
Judge: ‘You made an extremely fatal and critical decision.’
At a court appearance on Monday, a judge addressed Johnson directly, telling him that his choice had cost a man his life and devastated an entire family. “A member of our community lost his life, his family lost a father, a brother,” the judge said.
Johnson is currently being held at Kootenai County Jail without bond. No return court date has been announced as of publication.
