A man is dead after an officer involved shooting Wednesday afternoon in West Eugene. The incident prompted lockdowns at Churchill High and Kennedy Middle Schools.
Adeniji: “All I heard was three pops. And they sounded like a gun, but that’s the furthest thing from your mind.”
Shola Adeniji owns a dry cleaning business on Bailey Hill Road. It was hot inside, so he had his front door open. There was only one police car on the road when the shots were fired, but then…
Adeniji: “Cops were showing up all over the place. Within five minutes, there must have been 15, 20 cars.”
According to Eugene police, the incident started with a traffic stop on the road in front of Churchill High School. The man had a hand gun. Minutes later, the 44-year old suspect was dead.
Adeniji says the deceased man had a small motorcycle and had been in the neighborhood before.
Adeniji: “I always wondered if he was on the up and up. I know for a fact that he walked around with guns and knives – period. There was a day we were having a conversation in the parking lot and a gun fell out of his pocket.”
The lockdowns at the two schools were lifted within an hour of the incident.