Cascade Middle School students return after weekend gunfire

Extra police were on hand Monday as students returned to Cascade Middle School in southwest Bend after a late Friday night shooting incident in which the school and a vehicle were damaged. Three men who used to attend the school were arrested the next day.

Three 27-year-old Bend men were arrested Saturday, accused of using a newly purchased handgun to fire three shots that hit the school’s security cameras and windows, a fourth that struck an employee’s pickup truck and other shots heard on the city’s Westside, police said.

Police were called out shortly before 9 p.m. Friday to the area of Southwest Mt. Washington and Century drives after residents of the Southern Crossing Apartments on Southwest Mountaineer Way reported hearing several gunshots, Lt. Clint Burleigh said.

The residents reported seeing a suspect with what they believed to be a gun walking in the area of the school and apartments, Burleigh said.

Officers were unable to find any suspects, but found there was damage from gunshots to at least two separate areas of the school. Burleigh noted there were no activities at the school when the damage occurred.

Three gunshots hit the school, while another went through and damaged the windshield and back window of one school employee’s pickup truck, the lieutenant said late Saturday.

Patrol officers and detectives returned to the school and spent Saturday morning canvassing the area again, looking for more evidence to tie the actions to a suspect or suspects, Burleigh said.

They found several more pieces of evidence on the school grounds that led them to identify James Vincent Morris, Samuel Dominic Brooks and his twin brother, Alexandre Thomas Brooks, as suspects in the shooting, Burleigh said, noting that all three had attended the school in past years.

Detectives learned that Morris bought a semi-automatic handgun earlier Friday, and the three men went to the school Friday evening “specifically to cause damage to the school,” Burleigh said.

That included shooting out security cameras, shooting windows next to doors and also shooting out windows of an employee’s pickup truck.

The three then left the area in a vehicle and drove to the area around Shevlin Park Road, where police said they continued to shoot the gun out the window. That led to other calls to dispatchers of shots fired in the area, Burleigh said, adding that charges in the later gunfire are forthcoming.

Morris was contacted in a vehicle shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday on Southwest Brookswood Boulevard and Amber Meadow Drive, Burleigh said. Samuel Brooks was contacted just after 4 p.m. in a vehicle near Northeast First Street and Greenwood Avenue, around the same time Alexandre Brooks was contacted at his home.

“All three suspects acted in some capacity in the planning, driving or shooting at the school,” Burleigh said in a news release. The gun that was used was recovered, along with several other items connecting the men to the incident.

As classes resumed Monday, many parents expressed concern, despite the quick arrests.

“Do I feel like this is a safe school? I do,” said grandparent Polly Higgison. Still, she added, “I was hesitant to send Lucky to school today.”

Cascade Middle School sent a note home to parents, explaining what happened.

Many parents don’t feel like the school was targeted, although police say they believe the men were intentionally trying to damage the school.

“The police are still investigating the situation,” said school district spokeswoman Julianne Repman. ” It sounds like it was just a really poor poor judgement and that the school was not specifically targeted.”

The three men were lodged at the Deschutes County Jail.

Morris and Samuel Brooks were charged with second-degree attempted assault, unlawful use of a weapon (firearm), first-degree criminal mischief, criminal trespass with a firearm and conspiracy. Alexandre Brooks is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit unlawful use of a weapon (firearm).

Morris was being held Saturday night on $105,000 bail, while Samuel Brooks was held on $45,000 bail and Alexandre Brooks on $20,000 bail, jail records showed. At his first court appearance Monday, Morris’s bail was reduced to $30,000. Meanwhile, the Brooks brothers were released from jail, one on bail and the other on his own recognizance.

The arrests led officers to cancel a Crime Stoppers alert issued earlier Saturday, but Burleigh said police still would like to hear from witnesses to the incidents.

Burleigh also noted that Bend police “put forth a large contingency of staff to bring this situation to a quick resolution.”

“With the unfortunate incidents happening throughout the nation, in regards to violence at the schools and workplace, it was important for our community that this incident be resolved quickly,” the lieutenant said. “Because of such a cooperative relationship between the Bend-La Pine Schools, local media, businesses and citizens, this case had a positive resolution.”