Salem Shooting, April 27

Shortly after 11:00 am on April 24, Salem Police Officers made contact with a person whom they believed to be wanted near the parking area of the Walmart store located at 1940 Turner Rd SE. During the contact with the male suspect, he fled into a bus that had been converted into a recreational vehicle and refused to comply with commands to come out. Officer Trevor Morrison and his canine Baco also responded to assist. The suspect came out of the vehicle and there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the officers. No officers were injured, but Baco was shot in the head and the suspect retreated back into the vehicle. Baco was evacuated for emergency veterinary care as officers secured the area. Baco was released a short time later with only minor injury and was cleared to go home. Officers from Salem Police Department, Keizer Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police all responded to the scene to set a safety perimeter and assist. The Salem Police Department SWAT Team responded, secured the area and immediately began negotiating with the suspect in an effort to get him to surrender. Negotiators spoke with the suspect for several hours in an effort to get him to surrender peacefully. He also fired multiple shots from the vehicle out towards officers, at one time narrowly missing a SWAT officer. As the negotiations and shots continued, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and Portland Police Bureau sent additional tactical officers and equipment to assist in the situation. After several hours of negotiations, tactical officers used specialized vehicles to open up the walls of the vehicle in order to be able to see where the suspect was and what he was doing. Once the inside of the vehicle was exposed, the suspect refused to comply and continued to brandish a handgun. At that time, approximately 6:28 pm, tactical officers fired at the suspect and were able to eventually take him into custody. No officers were injured. The suspect is not being identified at this time and he has since died of his injuries. The Salem Police officers involved in the initial incident were Officers Chad Galusha, Officer Robert Owings, Corporal Tim Dezotell and Canine Officer Trevor Morrison. The tactical officers involved in the shooting of the suspect are Officer Joshua Edmiston, Officer Vincent Dawson and Officer Sean Bennett.