Eugene Police said they shot and injured a man Wednesday who they say was threatening people with a shotgun.
Police said around 12:30 p.m., they received a report of someone in the 1400 block of Railroad Boulevard who was menacing people.
"The report was of a male individual who had a shotgun, walking down the street, wielding the shotgun, walking in and out of traffic, trying to stop traffic, pointing the shotgun at individuals," Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner told reporters at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Skinner said police ultimately received as many as seven or eight different calls from community members.
He said officers tracked the suspect as he walked eastward, and tried to convince him to drop the weapon, but were unsuccessful.
Near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Madison Street, Skinner said officers confronted the man again, who proceeded with, as Skinner estimates, "some behavior then that resulted in the use of deadly force by an officer."
Skinner said the suspect was approaching a densely populated neighborhood.
"At some point we have to draw a line that we're not gonna let that happen anymore. We're not gonna let somebody just continue to terrorize our community members with a shotgun," said Skinner. "And that line for us was 2nd and Madison. Oakshire Brewing is right there—very busy, busy place."
Skinner said an officer fired at least one shot at the suspect, who was left injured but was still immediately conscious. He said officers then used protective gear to get closer.
John Wells, who owns a nearby business, said he saw the aftermath of the shooting.
"I could see the whole thing after he'd been shot, laying on his back and trying to get up, and they said 'no, stay down, stay down, stay down,'" said Wells. "The police were really good with this guy considering what had just happened. There was no yelling."
Wells said he watched as a number of vehicles pulled up, including an ambulance, and the suspect was loaded onto a stretcher.
Skinner said police immediately rendered aid to the suspect, who was taken to the hospital with injuries that are considered non-life-threatening. Skinner said he believed the suspect was in surgery as of just after 3 p.m.
Skinner said didn't know whether the suspect fired his weapon. He described the person as a white male, around 40 years of age. He said police know the person's name, but he didn't identify the suspect when speaking to reporters.
