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2022 Bend, Oregon shooting

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Coordinates: 44°03′28″N 121°15′54″W / 44.05778°N 121.26500°W / 44.05778; -121.26500
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2022 Bend, Oregon shooting
Ethan Blair Miller entering the Safeway store while holding a weapon
Map
LocationBend, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates44°03′28″N 121°15′54″W / 44.05778°N 121.26500°W / 44.05778; -121.26500
DateAugust 28, 2022; 2 years ago (August 28, 2022)
c. 7:03 – 7:08 p.m. (PDT)
Attack type
Mass shooting, murder–suicide, double-homicide, workplace violence.
Weapons
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
Injured2
PerpetratorEthan Blair Miller
DefenderDonald Ray Surrett Jr.
Motive

On August 28, 2022, a gunman opened fire at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon, killing two men, one of whom was an employee, and wounding two other people before committing suicide.[1]

Shooting

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The gunman, 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller, was captured on Ring Doorbell surveillance leaving his Fox Hollow apartment building at 7:03 pm, armed with an AR-15 style rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun. Miller wore a green satchel containing ammunition, a tactical vest and a black shirt with the word HURT in dark red lettering across his chest in reference to the Nine Inch Nails song. The gunman then fired three shots into his own vehicle, a 1997 Ford F-250, in the parking lot of the apartment building. Miller is then caught on surveillance walking through the parking lot between an Old Navy and a Costco. He opened fire, hitting stacks of hot tubs, a parked van, and wounding the driver of a moving black Honda Civic with glass and shrapnel as he shot through the passenger-side window.[2][3][4][5]

At 7:05 pm, Miller reached the Forum shopping center parking lot, where he fired into a Big Lots store adjacent to Safeway.[6] Upon reaching the west entrance of the Safeway, he shot Glenn Edward Bennett, an 84-year-old customer and Korean War veteran, five times, striking near his groin, right arm and left thigh.[3][5][7] Two other shoppers of the grocery store fled when the shooting started, but later returned to help Bennett, who had been lying on the ground.[8] Bennett later died from his injuries in the hospital.[9]

The gunman then moved farther into the store, firing into aisles as he progressed.[10] Miller is then seen walking over to the meat section where he confronts a hiding person laying on the ground, firing a shot beside him and continuing, leaving the patron unharmed. [2] Miller then continues toward the produce section where he is stabbed by Donald Ray Surrett Jr., a 66-year-old employee[11] and ex-convict who had hidden behind a produce cart in the store after he heard gunshots. As the gunman walked past the produce cart, Surrett lunged at him with a produce knife and attempted to disarm him, forcing him to drop his shotgun. However, the shooter overpowered Surrett and shot him once with his rifle. He then drops the rifle, picks up the shotgun and shoots Surrett twice, ultimately killing him.[2]

The gunman then continues to the produce aisle where Miller proceedes to sit back against a shelf and place the shotgun under him, firing upwards, ending the shooting. [8][12][2]

After receiving an emergency 911 call, officers entered the grocery store from the front and back. At 7:08 pm, Miller was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[4] The entire event was captured on video footage and a censored version was later released 95 days after the shooting.

In total, the gunman fired more than 100 shots. Law enforcement recovered more than 100 shell casings from the gunman's apartment complex, The Forum shopping center, and the interior of the Safeway.[13] Three molotov cocktails and a sawed-off Remington 870 shotgun were also found in the shooter's truck.[5]

Perpetrator

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Ethan Blair Miller (October 31, 2001 – August 28, 2022), a 20-year-old Bend resident, was identified as the gunman. Prior to the shooting, he lived at the nearby Fox Hollow apartment building with his mother and his younger brother.[14] Miller was also a former employee of Safeway.[8] The weapons Miller used in the attack were purchased legally.[15]

Miller wrote a private digital journal starting on June 29 on Wattpad titled "The Downward Spiral of Ethan Miller", which was named after a Nine Inch Nails album dubbed "The Downward Spiral".[16] In this journal, he detailed his plan and motivations for committing a mass shooting. In his journal, Miller wrote that he wanted to murder people due to isolation, loneliness, feuds with his family, frustrations at being unable to find a girlfriend, and also wrote lyrics from The Downward Spiral album, and other artists such as Disturbed, and KMFDM.[16] He also stated that he wanted to commit a school shooting at his former high school on September 8 and was influenced by the Columbine High School massacre. However, Miller instead chose to open fire on the Safeway because he couldn't wait long enough for the high school to reopen. Miller also posted photos and videos of himself with guns on Instagram and YouTube.[14][17]

Reactions

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Kate Brown, the governor of Oregon, thanked first responders for their quick response to the shooting. She further stated that her heart went out to the victims' families, and that everyone has the right to safety from gun violence.[18][19] On September 2, Brown, along with police chief Mike Krantz, fire chief Todd Riley, city manager Eric King, and Bend City Council members met privately with officers and other first responders at the Bend Fire Station. Additionally, Brown encouraged Oregonians to vote for Measure 114, a gun control bill, on Oregon's fall ballot.[20]

Senator Ron Wyden said that the Oregonians who were present at the shooting needed our thoughts and prayers, and that the United States can't ignore another mass shooting when there are people grieving over the loss of their friends and family.[21]

The Associated Press noted that the shooting occurred on the same day as unrelated shootings in Phoenix, Detroit, and Houston.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bend PD release new info on Safeway shooting: Over 100 shots fired; hero went after gunman with produce knife". KTVZ. August 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Gbadebo, Bola (December 1, 2022). "Police: 2 Killed in Oregon Grocery Store, Suspect Found Dead". ktvz. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b O'Brien, Brendan; Whitcomb, Dan (August 30, 2022). "Oregon gunman was confronted by employee who may have saved lives, police say". Reuters. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Edwards, Jonathan (August 30, 2022). "Safeway employee saved lives by confronting Oregon gunman, police say". Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Gaitán, Catalina (December 6, 2022). "New details emerge in Bend Safeway shooting; police release video footage, 398 pages of documents". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Flaccus, Gillian (August 29, 2022). "Police: Heroic Safeway employee confronted gunman in store". Associated Press. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Staff, Newsroom (December 2, 2022). "Bend police release video timeline of deadly Safeway shooting". KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2. Retrieved December 26, 2024. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ a b c Land, Joni Auden; VanderHart, Dirk (August 30, 2022). "Bend Safeway employee attempted to stab gunman during mass shooting, police say". OPB. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Romero, Dennis; Li, David K (August 28, 2022). "3 dead, including suspected shooter, in Oregon grocery store attack". NBC News. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Siess, Joe; Kaminski, Anna; Demars, Zack (August 29, 2022). "Gunman sprays aisles of Bend Safeway; 3 dead". Blue Mountain Eagle. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Land, Joni Auden; VanderHart, Dirk (September 2, 2022). "Amid memorial talks, Bend learns of Safeway shooting victim's criminal past". OPB. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Flaccus, Gillian (August 29, 2022). "Police: 2 Killed in Oregon Grocery Store, Suspect Found Dead". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Siess, Joe; Kaminski, Anna; Demars, Zack (September 3, 2022). "Gunman sprays aisles of Bend Safeway; 3 dead". The Bulletin. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  14. ^ a b McBride, Jessica (August 29, 2022). "Ethan Miller, Bend Safeway Shooter: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  15. ^ "Police: Safeway worker who fought Bend gunman with produce knife likely saved lives". Statesman Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Miller, Ethan. The Downward Spiral of "Ethan Miller".
  17. ^ Lamoureux, Mack (August 30, 2022). "'I Can't Wait to Die': Oregon Mass Shooter Shared Detailed 'Doomsday' Plans Online". Vice News. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  18. ^ "Oregon Gov. Brown thanks first responders, Bend Police for quick response to shooting". KATU. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  19. ^ LeCompte, Michael (September 2, 2022). "OR governor thanks police for rapid response to Bend shooting". NBC Right Now. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Keenan, Carly (September 2, 2022). "Governor Brown visits Bend, meets with Safeway shooting first responders, praises community's response". KTVZ. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  21. ^ LeCompte, Michael (September 2, 2022). "Oregon leaders respond to Sunday's Bend shooting". NBC Right Now. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Flaccus, Gillian (September 2, 2022). "'Devastating': Mass shootings obscure daily U.S. gun toll". Associated Press. Retrieved September 15, 2022. Taylor, 20, died Sunday the same day that four high-profile, public shooting rampages in Bend, Oregon, Phoenix, Detroit and Houston drew national headlines.
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