According to reports, a guard at the airfield’s security gate received a threatening note from the man who was shot and killed by police on Thursday at the Army Aviation Training Center in Salem.
Salem resident Matthew Walter Wong, 22, allegedly gave the guard a message telling soldiers to drop their weapons. According to reports, the note added, “I’ll give you ten minutes to decide.”
According to officials, the guard called the police for help, and the dispatcher informed the attending cops that this was the second time in the previous three days that the [person] had shown up at the [site].
At 1921 Turner Road S.E., Oregon State Senior Trooper Justin Oxenrider arrived outside the airstrip and went up to Wong, who was standing close to the guard station. According to a statement from the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, there was a confrontation and gunfire.
Wong passed away right there.
According to the district attorney’s office, Wong was carrying an open knife when it was found by police. Wong had an outstanding arrest warrant in Marion County for unlawful use of a weapon, the report further stated.
The shooting did not injure anyone else.
Oxenrider has eighteen years of experience with the Oregon State Police. He was honored with the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association’s Distinguished Action Award last year for saving the life of an injured victim.
The shooting is being looked into by the Salem Police Department, which did not participate in the police reaction at the airfield.
— OregonLive/The Oregonian
