Uncategorized

UPDATED: Chaotic night in Keizer, Salem as suspect trades gunfire with officers, runs over pedestrian

UPDATE: Authorities issued a statement Wednesday providing more details about what happened.

A police shooting and pursuit from Keizer into Salem Wednesday evening ended in a retailer parking lot in what video shows was a gunfight before a suspect was arrested.

Keizer police said the incident began around 8:40 p.m. when officers responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle at the corner of River Road North and Dearborn Road North.

Officers spoke to two men near the vehicle, which had been stolen, police said in a news release. One man was cooperative. The other “exchanged gunfire with officers and then fled in the vehicle,” the release said.

Police said the driver fled southbound on River Road, striking and killing a pedestrian who was crossing the street near the intersection with Cummings Lane North in Keizer.

Police pursued the vehicle from Keizer south on River Road and then on Northeast Cherry Avenue.

The pursuit ended in the parking lot of Home Depot, on Cherry Avenue south of the Salem Parkway. Video posted on social media shows several police cars surrounding a vehicle and the sounds of gunfire could be heard and orders for someone to get on the ground.

Witness accounts said Home Depot customer took shelter inside the store during the episode.

Keizer police said they were able to arrest the suspect with help from Salem police. He was transported to Salem Hospital with “several gunshot wounds,” police said.

Police did not release the name of the suspect or the pedestrian killed.

Six Keizer police officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave per department policy. Oregon State Police will investigate the shooting.