Police say a suspect was shot and killed when the man traded gunfire with police investigating a robbery in south Salem.
Around 9 a.m. Monday, Salem Police Department officers responded to a report of an armed robbery underway in the parking lot of the Walmart Shopping Complex in the 5250 block of Southeast Commercial Street, the agency said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Police said the suspected robber then moved up the street to Planet Fitness as officers responded. The suspect then ran to the Napa Auto Parts Store at 5105 Commercial St. S.E.
“Officers confronted the suspect in the parking lot and gunfire was exchanged. The suspect was struck and died at the scene,” the department wrote in its statement. Police did not say who fired the shot that killed the suspect.
No officers were injured during the incident, according to the statement. The department said it would not release the names of the suspect or the officers involved.
LISTEN: Video capturing gunfire
Around 50 shots can be heard In a video posted to Facebook Monday morning.
An estimated 15 police vehicles were on the scene following the incident. A body was on the ground and covered with a tarp in the parking lot of NAPA Auto Parts on the southwest corner of Commercial and Kuebler.
The Oregon State Police is investigating the shooting because it involved police deadly force. Marion County requires that an uninvolved law enforcement agency conduct such investigations, and state police will provide all future updates about the incident.
Salem police closed southbound Commercial Street at Kuebler Boulevard, as well as northbound at Southeast Barnes Avenue just north of Walmart, police said.
The Salem Area Mass Transit District, also known as Cherriots, put detours in place for routes eight, 18 and 21 .
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
