Police have arrested a Springfield man on accusations he shot two people Monday morning in the parking lot of the east Salem Fred Meyer.
The Salem Police Department identified the suspect as Robert E. Josh Jr., 62, of Springfield.
A third person was wounded in the shooting, but police haven’t identified the shooter.
Josh and the other three “are known to one another” and residents of Lane County, Salem police said in their news release Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Prosecutors charged Robert E. Josh, Jr., 62, on Tuesday with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, possessing a firearm as a felon, unlawful use of a weapon and fourth-degree assault.
Detectives arrested Josh Tuesday and booked him into the Marion County Jail, where he was being held without bail, the jail’s roster showed.
Police also arrested Andrew W. Beebe, 28 of Eugene, on an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. His involvement in the Monday shooting wasn’t clear in the police release.
Officers responded around 7:35 a.m. Monday to a report of a shooting in the parking lot of Fred Meyer at 3740 Market St. N.E.
Customers and employees weren’t instructed to shelter in place, and officers didn’t evacuate the store, according to Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick.
Police found Julia T. Dorfler of Eugene and Jamie E. Thomason of Springfield, both 30, with gunshot wounds in the parking lot.
Officers also found a second man, 28-year-old Chance T. Towlerton of Springfield, with a gunshot wound inside Elmer’s Restaurant east of the store’s parking lot.
Dorfler was shot several times and remained at Salem Hospital Tuesday. Thomason also remained hospitalized.
Towlerton was treated and released from the hospital.
Marion County court records show Josh is charged with shooting Dorfler and Towlerton.
He is also accused of helping Thomason possess a gun. Thomason is barred from doing so due to a previous felony conviction for drug possession.
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UPDATE: No arrests after 3 shot in east Salem Fred Meyer parking lot
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.
