Teenagers arrested with two guns after spray painting episode at Salem city park
UPDATE: 8:45 a.m. Aug. 12 – New information about outstanding warrants has been released by prosecutors.
A report of late-night graffiti painting at a northeast Salem city park led to the arrest of four juveniles and the recovery of two handguns, according to the Salem Police Department.
The agency said in a release on Sunday, Aug. 11, that at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday a neighbor reported spray-painted graffiti was being put on fencing at Hoover Park. The park is behind Hoover Elementary School, which is on Northeast Savage Road between Northeast D Street and Ellis Avenue.
When police officers arrived, four teenaged boys fled in a car, subsequently stopped just blocks from the park, the agency said.
The two handguns were inside the car, but police didn’t disclose whether they were loaded.
One 16-year-old taken into custody also was wanted on outstanding warrant for unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon related to a January 2023 crime. A 14-year-old taken into custody also had a warrant for fourth-degree assault. The two others taken into custody were also 16.
Each of the teens faces charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree criminal trespass. They were lodged at the Marion County Juvenile Department.
The Salem agency noted that neighborhood parks such as Hoover are closed daily from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
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Les Zaitz is editor and CEO of Salem Reporter. He co-founded the news organization in 2018. He has been a journalist in Oregon for nearly 50 years in both daily and community newspapers and digital news services. He is nationally recognized for his commitment to local journalism.
