Multiple dead, police officer airlifted after shooting in Sandy neighborhood: ‘People are grieving’

SANDY, Ore. (KGW) — A standoff in the city of Sandy is over, police said Sunday night, after a massive emergency response for a shooting in a residential neighborhood that left multiple people dead.

Neighbors describe a harrowing and chaotic experience, punctuated by the sound of rapid gunfire, before police were able to corral the suspect into a single residence.

In a brief press conference Sunday night, Sandy Police Chief Patrick Huskey said that his officers and Clackamas County deputies responded to reports of a domestic disturbance and shooting just before 4 p.m. in the 39500 block of Evans Street.

When officers arrived, they came under gunfire and returned fire, Huskey said. A Sandy police officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken via Life Flight helicopter to the hospital. The officer is stable and expected to survive, Huskey said.

As for other casualties, Huskey said only that there were "multiple victims deceased," and would not elaborate. He stressed that it is an active investigation, and more can't be shared yet.

Huskey confirmed that the suspect in the shooting had surrendered and was taken into custody, and there is no longer any threat to the area.

"This is a traumatic event for our community and the Sandy Police Department, and I know many people are grieving," Huskey said. "I ask everyone in our community keep the victims, our injured officer and families, friends and all the first responders in their thoughts tonight."

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and Clackamas County Major Crimes Team are now in charge of the investigation, Huskey said, and are processing the crime scene.

'The area is not safe'

There were even fewer answers as the incident unfolded Sunday afternoon. The Sandy Police Department, in a brief post on social media, first notified the public of an ongoing incident on Evans Street just before 5:15 p.m.

"The area is not safe and we ask that everyone stay out of the area. Residents in the area should lock their doors and remain inside. More information will follow," the agency said in its initial post.

The neighborhood surrounding Evans Street was crowded with emergency response vehicles throughout the incident, including multiple ambulances, fire engines and a large number of law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies. Closer to the home at the center of the standoff, KGW saw multiple armored police vehicles.

Sandy residents Mai and Lennon said they were coming home from a family member's house when they saw the commotion.

"We just saw all the SWAT cars, all the firefighters, all the ambulances, and we're like, 'Wait, what's going on?'" said Mai. "So we drove around, saw even more."

They learned that the incident was happening just a few streets over from Mai's house.

"I thought it was pretty crazy," Mai said. "I called my dad and I was like, 'Make sure the doors are locked,' and he was like, 'Yeah, I heard all the shootings from inside our house.'"

Rayne lives nearby and first heard shooting, then saw part of what happened as the incident moved toward her.

"I was in my bedroom and I heard gunshots, rapid gunshots, just over and over again, more than probably 8-10, and then I looked outside, I heard people screaming," she said.

When she looked out the window of her apartment, Rayne said she saw a man running up the hill with something in his hand. With him was someone else — someone small, she said. Rayne saw other people running that direction.

"They said, 'Go, go, go,' and there's cops yelling, and about five minutes later there's a SWAT team," Rayne continued. "And I yelled out my window asking him if everything was OK, 'Someone's shooting,' and he asked me to get down, that there is an active shooter on the complex."

The suspect seemed to be on the move, going to different parts of the neighborhood, Rayne said. Eventually, it was all contained to an area on Evans Street.

"I just started receiving a bunch of calls from my family. 'And they were like, are you alright? Are you alright?'" Rayne said. "It was just, you know, kind of like heat of the moment, like maybe after an hour and a half ... I was like, 'Alright, I'm f------ done with this' ... because I got told that he was like kicking doors and and stuff, so I put a couch on my door. I don't want that. I don't want that."

After 7 p.m., Sandy police told the public that a suspect was "confined to a residence." Then, just before 8 p.m., a KGW crew at the scene saw that a man had been taken into custody. Shortly after, Sandy police confirmed that a suspect was in custody and that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted.