State trooper shoots, kills person near Salem airport Thursday morning
A state trooper shot and killed a person at a U.S. Army aviation facility in southeast Salem Thursday morning, according to the Oregon State Police.
The agency in a news release provided almost no details about the shooting, which shut down Southeast Turner Road near the scene.
Police responded around 10 a.m. Thursday to a report of a suspicious person at the Army Aviation Support Facility #1, located at 1921 Turner Rd. S.E. The site is in a parking lot near the Willamette Valley Airport, a Walmart Supercenter and the west entrance to Cascades Gateway Park.
“A trooper responded to the scene and located the suspect which culminated in a deadly use of force. A single suspect was struck by gunfire and declared deceased at the scene,” according to the police statement.
State police said no one else was injured in the shooting. The agency did not identify the trooper or the suspect.
Turner Road will remain closed from the south Walmart entrance to the 2300 block at the Salem Elks Lodge for several hours due to the continuing investigation, according to the Salem Police Department.
The Salem agency is investigating the shooting at the direction of the Marion County District Attorney’s Office. County policy requires that a police agency not involved in a fatal police shooting has to conduct the investigation.
They will provide any future updates about the shooting in the next one to three days, Salem police said in a post on X Thursday afternoon.
Marion County also requires that “involved officers” – which under state law includes both officers that fire shots or witness another do so – be placed on paid administrative leave during investigations.
This story was updated Thursday afternoon with additional information from the Salem Police Department.
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.
