Police end 7-hour Salem standoff, capture armed man

SALEM, Ore. — A seven-hour standoff with a gunman who had barricaded himself inside a converted bus near a Salem Wal-Mart after shooting at police ended Friday evening with the man’s capture.

Police used heavy equipment to ram the parked bus and punch holes in it. The gunman tumbled out of the bus and was loaded into an ambulance.

Lt. Dave Okada said the man had been shot by police and was being taken to a hospital.

“We tried to negotiate with the suspect for several hours,” Okada told reporters. “During that time he fired numerous shots out of the vehicle at our officers.”

The standoff began Friday morning with a report of a suspicious vehicle and the discovery there was a warrant for the arrest of the man inside.

Officers exchanged gunfire with the man. A police dog was wounded but not seriously hurt.

During the afternoon, police used tear gas, but the man refused to come out. As police tried to negotiate with the man, he fired shots from inside the bus.

Police then brought in two large pieces of equipment that were used to rip away parts of the side of the bus so they could get a better view of the man.

KGW-TV said the man came out of the bus, shots were fired, and he was captured.

TV footage showed the man being placed on a stretcher and then in an ambulance.

Okada said of the gunman: “We made numerous attempts to try to talk to him, and we did have a dialogue going with him.”

Ultimately police had to move in because of his “erratic behavior, and the fact he was continuing to fire rounds,” Okada said.

Okada said the injured police dog, named Baco, was doing well and was released from the animal hospital.

The standoff occurred in southeast Salem between Interstate 5 and Salem Municipal Airport.

During the standoff police put the Wal-Mart store into lockdown, meaning customers couldn’t leave.