Salem man charged with hurling racist remarks at Hispanic family while holding shotgun
A Salem man is accused of shouting racist remarks at a Hispanic family while holding a shotgun Sunday afternoon in the North Lancaster area.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office charged Jonathan M. Haun, 27, on Monday with three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and three counts of first-degree bias crime.
Police responded just after 5 p.m. Sunday to a report that a man had brandished a shotgun at two adults and a young girl who were waiting for a tow truck in the 2100 block of Northeast Coral Avenue, the Salem Police Department said in a news release Monday.
The suspect, who police identified as Haun, approached the family with the shotgun in hand and “shouted racially-charged remarks,” according to the police statement.
Police said they found and seized the shotgun. Haun was arrested and lodged at the Marion County Jail.
His charges allege he made the victims fear “serious physical injury” because of his perception of their race, according to Marion County court records.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon at the Marion County Criminal Court Annex.
“We encourage Salem residents to report bias-motivated incidents to police. Whether threats to personal safety or hate speech, either verbal or in the form of graffiti, these incidents should be reported immediately so that a officers can investigate,” Salem police said in the statement.
People can also report acts of bias or hate to the Oregon Department of Justice by calling its Bias Response Hotline at 1-844-924-2427 or filing a report online.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety 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.
