The man who was shot and killed by police on Thursday at the Army Aviation Training Center in Salem had given a threatening note to a guard at the airfield’s security gate, officials said.
Matthew Walter Wong, 22, of Salem, handed a note to the guard that allegedly instructed soldiers to put down their weapons. “I will give you 10 minutes to decide,” the note reportedly said.
The guard called police for assistance, officials said, and the dispatcher relayed to responding officers, “This is the second time [subject] has appeared at the [location] in the last 3 days.”
Oregon State Senior Trooper Justin Oxenrider arrived outside the airfield, at 1921 Turner Road S.E., and approached Wong near the guard station. “A confrontation ensued and shots were fired,” the Marion County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Wong died at the scene. No one else was injured in the shooting.
Police recovered an open knife Wong was carrying, the district attorney’s office said.
Wong had an active arrest warrant in Marion County for unlawful use of a weapon, officials said. Court records show he was accused of attempting to use a knife against another person in March 2024.
Oxenrider has been with the Oregon State Police for 18 years. Last year, he received the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association’s Distinguished Action Award for helping save an injured man’s life.
The Salem Police Department, which was not involved in the police response at the airfield, is investigating the shooting.
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