BEND, Ore. — Law enforcement swarmed the Safeway at the Forum Shopping Center in Bend, Oregon, late Sunday evening after receiving reports of an active-shooter situation that left three people dead, including the suspect.
Update 4:54 p.m. EDT Aug. 29: Police on Monday identified the man who killed two people at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon, on Sunday night as 20-year-old Ethan B. Miller.
Police spokesperson Sheila Miller told The Bulletin that Ethan Miller killed a customer, 84-year-old Glenn Edward Bennett, and a Safeway employee, 66-year-old Donald Ray Surrett Jr., who attempted to disarm the gunman and is credited with preventing additional deaths in the attack.
Two other people, who have not been identified publicly, were injured in the shooting.
According to the newspaper, police searched Ethan Miller’s residence at Fox Hollow Apartments on Monday, as well as his vehicle in which they found two Molotov cocktails.
Sheila Miller also confirmed that initial reports of a potential second shooter have been ruled out by investigators, The Associated Press reported.
Josh Caba told KTVZ that he was shopping in the store with his four children when he heard multiple shots.
“I immediately turned to my children and said, ‘Run!’ People were screaming. It was a horrifying experience,” Caba told the TV station.
Meanwhile, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz confirmed during a news conference that responding officers entered the supermarket “still hearing shots.”
Bend is a city of about 97,000 residents roughly approximately 160 miles southeast of Portland, Oregon, according to the AP.
Update 1:39 p.m. EDT Aug. 29: The alleged gunman was armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a shotgun, police said, according to KTVZ. Officials said he came from a parking lot from a neighborhood behind the shopping center, entered the store and fired several shots.
About 100 police officers were on the scene and involved in the investigation.
The Forum Shopping Center was closed Monday as the investigation continues, The Associated Press reported.
Update 2:06 a.m. EDT Aug. 29: In a news conference late Sunday, Bend police confirmed that a gunman killed two people at the Safeway store before killing himself. Investigators have not found evidence of a second shooter, police told reporters.
Police did not release the name of the suspect or the victims.
Original report: Bend Police Department spokesperson Sheila Miller confirmed to The Bulletin that the incident began near a Big Lots store before a person shot and killed an individual in the entryway to the Safeway next door.
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.
— City of Bend Police Department #BendPolice (@BendCityPolice) August 29, 2022
The shooter then killed another person at the rear of the grocery store, and is now dead, Miller told the newspaper.
According to KTVZ, investigators are working to determine if there was more than one gunman.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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