On 09/12/22 at 3:52pm, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office received the report of a male assaulting a female at a residence on S. Ash St. near S. 2nd St. just south of Springfield. The 911 caller stated that his step-father was assaulting his mother at the residence. Deputies arrived on scene and entered the residence. They evacuated 7 children, ages ranging from 1 – 11 years old, from within residence. A daycare business is operated at the residence. Deputies quickly learned that the involved male had barricaded himself with an adult female hostage in the basement. At 4:19pm, deputies heard the male state that he had a firearm and that he was going to kill her. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene. The Crisis Negotiation Team consists of trained crisis negotiators from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Springfield Police Department, and Junction City Police Department. The Springfield Police Department SWAT team additionally responded, as did negotiators from the Oregon State Police. Tactical teams positioned themselves to contain the scene and crisis negotiators were able to make contact with the suspect both by telephone and verbally. Negotiations continued for several hours. At 9:31pm, deputies announced via the radio that shots had been fired and that the involved male was down. Deputies began administering first aid to the male and rushed the female out of the residence and into the hands of awaiting paramedics. Paramedics from Eugene/Springfield Fire had been staged a short distance away since early in the incident. Medics quickly transported the female to a nearby hospital. Preliminary reports are that the female had suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her abdomen. Deputies attempted to administer life-saving measures to the involved male, however he did not survive and the male was pronounced deceased. Two Lane County Sheriff’s Deputies advised that they had fired shots from their department issued firearms during the incident. No deputies were physically injured during the incident. The deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave as is standard protocol in deadly force incidents. The Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team (IDFIT) responded and is investigating the incident. This team is comprised of investigators from numerous outside agencies including the Eugene Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police. The IDFIT investigation is overseen by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office. As per IDFIT protocols, any additional information regarding this investigation will be released by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators are expected to be on scene for the next several hours. There is no on-going threat to the public at this time.
