A Clackamas County SWAT team arrested a man on Saturday afternoon after he allegedly opened fire on a team of tree cutters working near Oregon City — then used a tractor to try to fend off tactical officers, officials say.
Erik Gordon Shunn, 53, is accused of second-degree attempted murder, attempted first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing for the incident, which happened just before 2:30 p.m. near South Rocky Bluff Lane in unincorporated Oregon City, sheriff’s officials say.
Court records show that Shunn was previously convicted of violating a court’s stalking protective order in 2021.
Officials say that tree company employees were cutting down trees along the side of the road when Shunn allegedly fired off roughly 20 rounds in their direction — but failed to hit a single worker.
Sheriff’s deputies got calls from people in the area about hearing gunshots and scrambled a SWAT team, drones and crisis negotiators to the scene, officials said. As deputies evacuated people from the neighborhood, Shunn allegedly used a tractor to plow down trees in an apparent attempt to build a makeshift barricade, officials said.
And when the sheriff’s office drones locked onto him, he tried to shoot them down, officials said, but it’s unclear if he managed to hit any of them.
Despite the barricade, SWAT officers arrested Shunn around 3:45 p.m. and took him to a hospital for medical evaluation, officials said. Deputies also found Shunn’s mother, who was trapped inside their home during the standoff but escaped unscathed, officials said.
It’s unclear why Shunn allegedly fired on the workers, and the incident is under investigation. Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 503-723-4949, online at https://www.clackcosheriff.us/submitATip, or through the ClackCo Sheriff mobile app, available at https://apps.myocv.com/share/a110597045.
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