UPDATE – 4:51 pm. Monday, June 2

Tony L. Williams appeared agitated Monday afternoon as he appeared in court to face charges alleging he stabbed 12 people the evening before at the Union Gospel Mission in downtown Salem.

The Marion County District Attorney’s Office on Monday charged Williams, 42, of Bend, with second-degree attempted murder and 11 counts of second-degree assault.

Williams appeared behind glass at the Marion County Criminal Court Annex attached to the county jail and rambled profanely even after court staff lowered the volume on his microphone. He complained about conditions in the jail, claiming that staff were pumping gas into his cell, and said he acted in self-defense.

Marion County Circuit Judge Pro Tem Drew Taylor ordered that he remain in jail at least until his next court hearing scheduled for June 9, finding probable cause that he committed the crimes he’s charged with and that he is a danger to the public.

Marion County Deputy District Attorney Brendan Murphy said in a court filing Monday that Williams is accused of stabbing vulnerable victims and causing permanent injury. Those are among the details prosecutors intend to rely on to argue for a sentence that’s longer than normal if he is convicted.

Original story below:

A Bend man with few apparent connections to Salem is accused of going on a rampage Sunday night, stabbing 12 people at the Union Gospel Mission men’s shelter during check in.

Police named Tony L. Williams, 42, as the suspect in the stabbing at the mission, 777 Commercial St. N.E. He faces 12 counts of second-degree assault in Marion County Circuit Court. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.

Craig Smith, executive director of the mission, told Salem Reporter the stabbing occurred Sunday evening as a man was checking into the shelter for the night.

“He had stayed with us the night before, but he’s not a person that we know well,” Smith said.

He also addressed the incident in a video statement posted on social media Monday morning.

The man checked his belongings at the front desk, which the shelter requires as a security precaution.

“We don’t know why or what happened, but he got triggered,” Smith said. “He pulled the knife and he stabbed our employee, and then he just went on a rampage.”

Police said the man used an 8-inch knife, stabbing multiple people inside the shelter before heading outside and stabbing others who were sitting outside.

Most of those stabbed were shelter guests. A shelter employee remains in serious condition at the hospital, Smith said.

Those stabbed include two employees and 10 shelter guests or people outside the building, Salem police said Monday. Victims ranged in age from 26 to 57.

Police initially said there were 11 victims, but located an additional victim as officers interviewed witnesses. Five men with serious injuries remain hospitalized, while others had non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police said Williams was traveling by intercity bus from Portland to Deschutes County and had stopped in Salem on Saturday. They said there is no indication the attack was targeted, but the investigation is ongoing.

Court records show Williams has been in and out of mental health treatment in Deschutes County for the past several years.

He was accused of pulling a knife on a man and charged with unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and resisting arrest in July 2022. 

The menacing and weapon charges were later dropped and Williams pleaded guilty to resisting arrest in January 2023. He was placed on probation, but later had his probation revoked. Williams was then committed to the Oregon State Hospital in August 2023 after a judge determined he was unfit to follow the proceedings against him.

Court records show he spent about three months at the hospital before being returned to jail and later to a supportive housing program.

Williams has an eighth grade education, according to a guilty plea he signed in the case.

He has pending trespassing and disorderly conduct charges in a Deschutes County case which also resulted in court-ordered mental health treatment. A judge found him fit to face the charges against him on Nov. 15, 2024.

That case is set for trial in July.

Court records list his most recent address as The Lighthouse, a navigation center and homeless shelter in Bend.

Correction: The suspect in the case was traveling to Deschutes County from Portland, police said, not the other way around. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.

Ardeshir Tabrizian and Madeleine Moore contributed reporting.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.