NE Bend homeless camp resident arrested in BB gun shooting

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A resident of a northeast Bend homeless camp was arrested on assault and other charges after using a BB gun to shoot a fellow resident several times, as well as another man near a convenience store, police said Thursday.

Officers were shortly before midnight Wednesday to the area of a 7-Eleven on Northeast Franklin Avenue on a report of an armed subject, Lt. Juli McConkey said.

The caller to Deschutes County 911 dispatchers said the 37-year-old suspect had shot several people with the gun, McConkey said. A bystander told the dispatcher they took the BB gun away from the suspect. Officers arrived on scene, contacted the bystander and secured the replica Glock BB gun.

As officers talked with the suspect in front of 7-Eleven, another caller reported he had shot a friend with a BB gun and needed assistance, McConkey said. Officers contacted the victim near the store and determined he had sustained non-life-threatening injuries. That victim declined medical attention and did not want to pursue charges and did not ask for or receive medical treatment, she said.

An investigation revealed the suspect and initial victim, who is 25, both live in the camp in the area of Northeast Second Street and Emerson Avenue, McConkey said. The victim said he saw the suspect going into tents that didn’t belong to him and confronted the man, who then shot at him about 10 times, striking him several times. He declined medical treatment when contacted, McConkey said.

The suspect was taken to the Deschutes County Jail and booked on charges of second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree criminal trespass.