BEND, Ore. — Bend police held a news conference early Monday afternoon to provide an update on the Sunday evening shooting at a Bend shopping center that left three people dead including the alleged gunman.
In an initial press briefing late Sunday night, police said a man carrying an assault-style rifle started shooting in the parking lot of the Forum Shopping Center, located off Highway 20 near Northeast 27th Street, around 7 p.m. Sunday night.
A Bend police spokesperson said the gunman came from a residential area behind the shopping center. He allegedly started shooting near the Big Lots store, then went into the west entrance of the Safeway.
Bend police say the suspect shot and killed someone at the front of the grocery store then continued firing through the store, killing an additional person toward the back of the store.
A third person was found dead in the store; police believe that person to be the shooter.
Investigators recovered an AR-15 style assault rifle and a shotgun near the suspect. Initial reports show that Bend Police officers did not fire any shots at the scene.
It's not clear how many others were injured.
A spokeswoman with St. Charles Hospital told KTVZ they received two patients just before 8:30 p.m. One was dead on arrival, the second patient was reported to be in good condition.
The hospital was placed on lockout.
Bend police say they investigated reports that there was a second shooter, and additional shooting scenes, but say they've found no evidence of any other shootings in the city Sunday night.
Safeway shopper Josh Caba talked with KTVZ about the terrifying shopping experience.
The Bend resident said his wife had stayed in the car, as she was not feeling well, while he went shopping with their four children.
"About 10 minutes later, we started heading to the front. Then we heard I don’t know how many shots out front – six or seven. I immediately turned to my children and said, 'Run!' People were screaming, it was a horrifying experience."
Caba was worried about his wife but, but "by the grace and provision of God," he said, when he and three of their kids burst through the big black exit doors by the produce department, his wife had driven around back and "was sitting in the car, saying 'Get in the car! Get in the car!'"
Caba said he went back in and found their fourth child, rushing her out of the store and to the car as well.
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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement Monday morning, noting that it was one of multiple shootings in the state over the weekend and decrying them as "senseless acts."
“I am asking all Oregonians to keep the victims of last night’s shooting in Bend and their families in your thoughts and in your hearts today," she said. "Every Oregonian should be able to go to a grocery store without the fear of gun violence. While there is still much we don’t know, Oregon State Police are working with local authorities to respond to and investigate this tragic event."
Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley both tweeted statements about the event.
UFCW Local 555, the union that represents the workers at the Safeway, issued a statement Monday thanking first responders and said the union was working with Safeway to make sure the workers get support. The union called the shooting "heartbreaking" and "unthinkable."
"In retail spaces, gun violence is becoming increasingly common," the union said. "What should have just been a normal evening erupted into a mass shooting event that cut lives short, and will forever leave scars in the community. Retail workers should not go to work facing violence, and deserve more protection than our society has chosen to afford them."
