Shooting in Bend shopping center kills 3 in Oregon

Three people are dead after a shooting Sunday night at the east Bend Safeway, according to police.

Bend Police Department spokesperson Sheila Miller said the incident began around 7 p.m. near the Big Lots store next door before a person shot and killed an individual in the entryway to Safeway.

She said the shooter was using an AR-15-style rifle and had additional weapons as well.

The shooter then killed another person at the rear of the grocery store, and is now dead, Miller said. At a 10:30 p.m. press conference, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz did not identify the alleged shooter by name but said he was a man.

“We know this a frightening thing for our community,” he said, adding that the police department was aware of social media reports of a second shooting in Bend but that the department had no evidence of one. “We ask that our community be patient.”

One person taken to St. Charles Bend was dead on arrival, and one was reported as in good condition, according to Lisa Goodman, spokesperson for St. Charles Health System.

A witness, Molly Taroli, 40, was shopping for dinner with her husband in the frozen foods aisle when the shooter came in through the westernmost door of the grocery store and went through every aisle “spraying shots,” she said. Taroli removed her own handgun from her purse and her husband ran out the front door to get his own gun.

Taroli said she heard a child screaming. She threw her shopping cart in front of her and started running toward the back of the store. Employees were yelling “go, go, go!” and getting shoppers through the stock room and out the back door.

Dozens of police officers from multiple law enforcement agencies and ambulances were on the scene Sunday.

Bend Police urged residents to stay clear of the shopping center.

A Safeway employee told The Bulletin that a person walked into the grocery store and opened fire with a gun, firing multiple shots.

Jake Daniels, another Safeway employee, said he heard three shots followed by another six. He said he saw a person running out of the store, pursued by police.

Daniels said after the first shots, he started grabbing people and running out the store doors.

About a dozen Safeway workers huddled outside a nearby business at the Forum shopping center, clearly shaken.

Bend Police said in a tweet:

“There is an active investigation in the area of The Forum shopping center. Please avoid the area. More updates to come as the investigation continues.”

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