SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — A 25-year-old man has been arrested after three people were shot in an apartment complex in the western Oregon town of Springfield, authorities said Sunday.
The Springfield Police Department said in an early morning news release that all three victims were transported to area hospitals with serious to life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses called 911 to report gunfire at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and the police officers who responded found two people with gunshot wounds near a staircase leading to an apartment. According to the press release, the officers heard calls for help from inside the apartment, and found the suspect struggling with another man inside.
Officers detained the suspect after engaging in what they described as a “significant physical struggle.”
The police said the suspect had a semi-automatic handgun, but lost control of the weapon at some point after the shooting. Officers later recovered it outside the apartment.
A third victim, who had been shot in the neck, had already fled the apartment and sought help from people living nearby.
Tiah Wickwire was at a home near the apartment complex when she heard the gunfire. She told local television station KEZI that she saw two people fleeing the apartment.
“Somebody came running down the street screaming … ‘Help! Help!'” she told the news station. “Then another guy came out after a while and he had a gunshot wound on his neck.”
The police have not released the names of the victims or the suspect, but say the 25-year-old suspect is believed to have lived in the apartment.
The shooting remains under investigation.
