Amelia Smith, Opinion and Content Editor, and Eddy Binford-Ross, Editor-in-Chief, contributed to this report.
At approximately 1:25 p.m. today the suspect in the shooting of a Salem Police Department [SPD] was taken into custody following a standoff that lasted hours. The suspect and officer have not been identified yet.
At approximately 3:20 a.m. this morning, a SPD officer was shot during an undercover investigation. The officer was transported to the Salem Health Hospital Emergency Room with non-life threatening injuries. He was reportedly shot in the arm.
The officer was shot near Mission St. and 17th St. The suspect proceeded to flee the scene and took shelter in a house on the corner of 13th St. and Waller St.
There were several people in the house including children, along with the suspect. SPD were reportedly able to get everyone out earlier this morning, except the suspect. The suspect was believed to be armed.
Several SWAT vehicles were positioned around the house. Photos By Eddy Binford-Ross
The SWAT team was on site, along with SPD’s SWAT vehicles. SPD’s Mobile Command Unit was set up on the corner of Hines and 13th. There were K-9 units present and patrol vehicles positioned along the perimeter.
SPD’s Public Information Officer announced at 11:15 a.m. that they had obtained a warrant and were legally allowed to enter the house and arrest the suspect.
There were two loud blasts heard at 11:20 a.m. A drone was sent in to locate the suspect at that time.
At 11:53 a.m., the suspect was told via a Long Range Acoustic Device [LRAD], “You are under arrest, there is a warrant for your arrest, come out with your hands up.” SPD also used the high-pitched siren on the LRAD in an attempt to draw him out.
The suspect was told at 11:56 a.m. that if he did not leave the house they would send in a police dog. SPD warned the suspect over the LRAD that “If [the dog] finds you he will bite.” They told the suspect that if he did not want to be bitten he must come out of the house with his hands up.
Throughout the morning the police used the LRAD to encourage the surrender and to tell him to come out of the house with his hands up. They also told him to call 911 to talk to them.
SPD placed a pole on the front of one of their SWAT vehicles and proceeded to breach the door. Two officers were positioned on the roof of the business across the street from the house for much of this time.
At around 12:25 p.m., several officers in full tactical gear went up to the door and the glass of either the door or window was shattered. Officers stood outside the door and in the entryway for a while.
A team fully entered the house, some with shields, a little before 1 p.m. There were several security cameras, including a doorbell camera, set up around the house that the police believed that the suspect may have access to. Officers deactivated them as they went through the house according to police scanners.
SPD had officers positioned around in the house and moving throughout the area at this time. They used a pole camera in an effort to get a better view of what the situation in the house was. They also used thermal imaging to help locate the suspect.
Once the suspect was taken into custody, the teams swept the house and removed all their gear from inside. The SWAT vehicles left and SPD is currently working to reopen 13th.
This story is still developing. We will continue to update it as more information becomes available.
