BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A man who was in possession of a gun called 911 to report he was experiencing a mental health crisis and was at a forum until police negotiators relieved him Thursday afternoon.・Multiple stores in the shopping center were locked down for 30 minutes. We were able to end the incident peacefully.
An employee at a shopping center on Northeast Highway 20 called Deschutes County 911 dispatchers shortly after 1 p.m., saying she was having a mental health crisis, said Sheila Miller, director of public affairs for the Bend Police Department. He was reported to be in possession of a firearm.
“Bend Police Department negotiators were able to speak with the man over the phone and convince him to leave the firearm, leave the workplace, and contact officers, who transported him to the Deschutes County Stabilization Center without incident. “I did,” Miller said. said in a news release.
“The man committed no crime during the incident,” she added.
Miller said several nearby businesses were locked down “out of an abundance of caution.” Medical personnel from Bend Fire were also dispatched to the area, and there was a heavy police presence until the incident was over.
The Central Oregon Emergency Response Team (CERT) was not deployed, but armored vehicles were on the way and “we were ready to go in case we needed to,” Miller said.
Miller declined to name the businesses placed on lockdown, but said he was not aware of any evacuations due to the situation.
He also said East Bend Safeway was apparently not among the businesses affected by the lockdown.
In August 2022, a 20-year-old gunman fired more than 100 shots before and after entering a grocery store, killing a customer and a clerk who confronted him with a produce knife before turning the gun on himself. .
