Bend police had responded to a Safeway in a shopping center after reports of a possible active shooter.
Three people, including the suspected shooter, were dead following an attack Sunday night at a Bend, Oregon, grocery store, police said.
Authorities announced the number of deceased in a tweet around 9:15 p.m. local time.
Earlier, a spokesperson for St. Charles Bend medical center said it had received one patient from the attack who was dead on arrival. Another other patient was said to be in good condition.
Spokesperson Lisa Goodman said police were called to the Safeway at the Forum Shopping Center in northeast Bend just after 7 p.m. after a possible active was reported there, according to NBC affiliate
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Someone wielding an assault-style rifle opened fire in the parking lot of a northeast Bend shopping center Sunday evening and soon entered a Safeway store, firing numerous more shots as terrified shoppers ran for the exits. Three people were killed in the store, including the suspect, police confirmed.
Officers and medics rushed to the Forum Shopping Center just after 7 p.m. after numerous reports of gunshots and one or more victims and/or suspects.
Just before 8:30 p.m., St. Charles spokeswoman Lisa Goodman confirmed that they had received two people, one who was dead on arrival and another reported to be in good condition. A short time later, she said the hospital had been placed in a lockout.
Minutes later, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller told reporters three people had been shot and killed, including the alleged gunman.
Police responded to numerous calls just after 7 p.m. reporting shots fired at the Forum Shopping Center, she said.
Miller said at least one shooter was firing shots in the parking lot, near the Costco and Big Lots stores, then entered the west entrance of Safeway.
“One person was shot inside the entrance,” she said, and that person was the one reported dead on arrival at St. Charles Bend.
“Police believe the shooter continued firing through the store, shooting and killing an additional person” toward the back, produce area, Miller said.
Police found another person, believed to be the shooter, dead in the store. Miller said initial reports indicate police did not fire any shots at the scene.
Miller told reporters that police recovered an AR-15 rifle at the scene.
The police spokeswoman said that a “shelter in place” warning was still in effect in the area “out of an abundance of caution.” Police planned a media briefing at 10:30 p.m. at police headquarters.
Goodman said shortly before 9 p.m. that “the hospital is on lockout and we are encouraging people to stay away unless they are experiencing a medical emergency.”
Still “shook up” two hours later, Safeway shopper Josh Caba told NewsChannel 21 about several terrifying minutes on a grocery run.
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.”
Worried about his wife, as it turned out, “by the grace and provision of God,” 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 “is 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. He wanted to praise the police for their actions.
“When I got out of that store and the kids were rounded up, they (officers) are running into the store. They are wonderful people. They deserve all the praise and credit in the world. It is absolutely more terrifying than you can imagine having someone shooting at your kids. They are rock stars!”
Deschutes County 911 dispatchers received numerous calls just after 7 p.m. reporting multiple gunshots heard in the area of the shopping center, at Highway 20 and Northeast 27th Street.
Some callers reportedly said they saw someone dressed all black, while others said a male subject holding two duffel bags may have entered the grocery store.
Others heard gunshots from the nearby Costco, to the east.
Bend police said in a tweet that there was “an active investigation in the area of The Forum Shopping Center. Please avoid the area. More updates to come as the investigation continues.”
Bend police, Oregon State Police, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Oregon State Police, and Bend Fire & Rescue medics converged on the scene, including numerous armed officers and armored vehicles, amid reports one or more suspects may have left the area.
NewsChannel 21 has crews on the scene and on the way and we’ll have details as soon as possible