1 p.m. Sunday – Police have identified the second teenager hospitalized after the Bush’s Pasture Park shooting.
The second surviving victim is Roberto Muñoz-Soto, 16, of Salem, the Salem Police Department said in a news release.
Department spokeswoman Angela Hedrick said she did not know if either victim remained hospitalized as of Sunday.
Original story below:
Salem police have arrested a teen boy on accusations of of killing another boy and wounding two others in a shooting at Bush’s Pasture Park Thursday afternoon.
Nathaniel S. McCrae Jr., 16, turned himself in at the Salem Police Department station late Friday evening in the company of a parent. He was arrested without incident, police said in a news release Saturday morning.
McCrae was lodged at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
The announcements about the shooting represented a change in the agency’s practice of not identifying juvenile suspects or victims of crimes.
The charges allege McCrae shot and killed 16-year-old Jose Vazquez-Valenzuela, a sophomore at South Salem High School, at the south Salem park.
The teen is also accused of shooting Damien Esquivel-Soto, 15, and a 16-year-old boy who police have not identified. They were transported to Salem Hospital for treatment.
Esquivel-Soto is a sophomore at Roberts High School, Salem’s alternative high school, and previously attended South for about three months in the fall, the school district said.
The older boy was subsequently transferred to Portland for additional care. Salem police are not naming him until they can reach his family to notify them of his injuries.
Both surviving victims remained hospitalized as of Friday.
In a Friday news release, police confirmed the accounts of several witnesses, saying two large groups of juveniles were at the park when gunfire erupted.
Vazquez-Valenzuela died at the scene.
CORRECTION: The teen who died in the shooting is Jose Vazquez-Valenzuela. His name as provided by Salem police earlier was incorrectly spelled.
RELATED COVERAGE:
Police identify 16-year-old boy killed in Bush’s Pasture Park shooting
“The kid died in my lap”: witnesses describe tragedy, mayhem as 3 shot in Bush’s Pasture Park
UPDATE: One dead, 2 boys injured in shooting at Bush’s Pasture Park
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
SUPPORT OUR WORK – We depend on subscribers for resources to report on Salem with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Subscribe today to get our daily newsletters and more. Click I want to subscribe!
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.
