| 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting | |
|---|---|
 Ethan Blair Miller entering the Safeway store while holding a rifle | |
 Interactive map of 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting | |
| Location | 44°03′28″N121°15′54″W / 44.05778°N 121.26500°W /44.05778; -121.26500 Bend, Oregon, U.S. |
| Date | August 28, 2022; 3 years ago (August 28, 2022) c. 7:03 – 7:08 p.m. (PDT) |
Attack type | Mass shooting,murder-suicide,workplace shooting |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 2 |
| Perpetrator | Ethan Blair Miller |
| Defender | Donald Ray Surrett Jr. |
| Motive |
|
On August 28, 2022, 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller opened fire at aSafeway grocery store inBend, Oregon, killing two men, one of whom was an employee, and wounding two other people before committing suicide inside the store.[2]
The gunman, 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller, was captured onRing Doorbell surveillance leaving his Fox Hollow apartment building at 7:03 pm, armed with anAR-15 style rifle and a12-gaugeshotgun. 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 song "Hurt" byNine Inch Nails. He then fired three shots into his own vehicle, a1997 Ford F-250, in the parking lot of the apartment building. Miller is then caught on surveillance walking through the parking lot between anOld Navy and aCostco. He opened fire, hitting stacks of hot tubs, a parked van, and wounding the driver of a moving blackHonda Civic with glass and shrapnel as he shot through the passenger-side window.[3][4][5][1]
At 7:05 pm, Miller reached the Forum shopping center parking lot, where he fired into aBig Lots store adjacent to Safeway.[6] Upon reaching the west entrance of the Safeway, he shot Glenn Edward Bennett, an 84-year-old customer andKorean War veteran, five times, striking near his groin, right arm and left thigh.[4][1][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]
Miller then moved farther into the store, firing into aisles as he progressed.[10] He 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.[3] Miller then continues toward the produce section where he is stabbed by Donald Ray Surrett Jr., a 66-year-old employee[11] who had hidden behind a produce cart in the store after he heard gunshots. As Miller 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, Miller 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.[3]
Miller then continued to the produce aisle where he proceeded to sit back against a shelf, placed the shotgun under him, fired upwards and committed suicide.[8][12][3]
After receiving an emergency911 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.[5] The entire event was captured on video footage and a censored version was later released 95 days after the shooting.
In total, Miller fired more than 100 rounds. 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] Threemolotov cocktails and asawed-offRemington 870 shotgun were also found in the shooter's truck.[1]
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 onWattpad titled "The Downward Spiral of Ethan Miller", which was named after aNine Inch Nails album dubbed "The Downward Spiral".[16] In this journal, he detailed his plan and motivations for committing a mass shooting. Miller wrote that he wanted to murder people due to his isolation, loneliness, feuds with his family, and frustrations at being unable to find a girlfriend. He also wrote lyrics from The Downward Spiral album and other artists such asDisturbed andKMFDM.[16] He also stated that he wanted to commit aschool shooting athis former high school on September 8 and wasinfluenced by theColumbine 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 onInstagram andYouTube.[14][17]
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 BendCity Council members met privately with officers and other first responders at the Bend Fire Station. Additionally, Brown encouraged Oregonians to vote for Measure 114, agun control bill, on Oregon's fall ballot.[20]
SenatorRon Wyden said that the Oregonians who were present at the shooting needed ourthoughts 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]
TheAssociated Press noted that the shooting occurred on the same day as unrelated shootings inPhoenix, Detroit, andHouston.[22]
Taylor, 20, died Sunday the same day that four high-profile, public shooting rampages in Bend, Oregon, Phoenix, Detroit and Houston drew national headlines.