Benny Westcott and Scott Swanson
Sweet Home police are investigating an incident that occurred more than a month ago, in which a neighbor of Foster School discharged a firearm, striking the school building.
According to a public statement issued by the police on April 25, at approximately 7:43 a.m. on Sunday morning, March 19, a Sweet Home Police Department officer heard what sounded like a gunshot in the area of 54th Avenue and Quince Street. The school is bordered by Quince and Poplar streets and 54th Avenue.
Police said the officer, who was not identified, conducted an area check and contacted nearby residents but was unable to determine the location or source of the noise.
At about 10:11 a.m., a citizen called the police to report the resident at 5400 Quince Street was experiencing a mental health crisis. Officers responded and ultimately placed the unidentified man into protective custody for a mental-health hold.
Police “soon determined” that the person in custody likely had fired a weapon into the ground, which was the source of the noise the officer initially heard.
The case has been referred to the Linn County District Attorney’s Office for review of criminal charges, police said, and the department applied for an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which suspends a person’s right to own or purchase firearms.
“Once the ERPO was granted, a detective then applied for and was granted a search warrant to seize the firearms from the residence. The search warrant was executed on March 24, and seven firearms were seized.”
As they were investigating, Police Chief Jason Ogden said, officers noticed multiple holes in a window of the residence and corresponding holes in the side of the Foster Elementary School building across the street.
That information was provided to school officials and to the mental health workers who were assisting with the incident, police said.
As of Monday morning, May 1, the individual in question was still being evaluated by mental health professionals, Ogden said.
He said the reason why the man’s name has not been released is because he was apprehended on a mental-health hold. However, Ogden added that police anticipate charging him in the case, and when that happens, his name will be released.
Police said neighbors have been caring for the individual’s dog “on a long-term basis.”
The Sweet Home School District issued its own statement, also on April 25, acknowledging that school officials were notified of the incident during spring break
“The police reported that they had made contact with the responsible party and there was no continuing threat to the school and no one was physically at risk,” the school district statement said.
“The school district is very appreciative of the Police Department’s work to help ensure the safety of our students and staff. Student safety is our top priority.”
The police statement said the department “understands and empathizes with the concerns of parents and neighbors in the area” and referred questions or concerns to the school district.
“The Sweet Home Police Department takes this incident very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of all involved,” the statement read.
“In situations such as this, we must constantly balance the rights of an individual against the public’s need to know. Because this situation was resolved and any potential threat to the public was mitigated upon removing this individual from the situation, information was only shared with the people and entities that had an immediate interest in the case.
“Due to an enhanced public concern and the possibility that the individual may be released from custody at some point soon, we are releasing this information now.
We are hopeful that with the ongoing work of all the agencies involved, the individual and the community will move forward in a positive and healthy way.”
The incident has sparked criticism from local residents regarding the city’s and school district’s decision to keep information about it under wraps.
Local residents complained at the Sweet Home City Council’s April 25 meeting about the way the incident had been handled.
“It is understood that waiting six plus days to release information to the community that live rounds went into one of our schools is unacceptable,” resident Robert Egner said. “It is in the best interest of this community, the safety of our children and the well-being of those in the area for them to know that such a serious issue happened.”
“It is not acceptable nor the right of any city official to keep any of this information from the parents of this community,” he continued. “It is the job and the inalienable right of the parents to have the ability to make the decisions for our children while at schools and school functions, and if need be remove our children from schools, events, or even the immediate neighborhood.”
Both city and school officials acknowledged that communication regarding the incident could have been better.
Responding to Egner’s comments, Ogden admitted at the council meeting that “we did drop the ball on communication, for sure. I want to extend an apology to you, the public and city council.”
He said that “as things began exploding on Facebook, in hindsight, we were like, ‘Yeah, we should have definitely communicated this.’
“But at the same time, we’re doing everything we can to make sure the school is going to be safe, and we want to notify the public if this person gets back out of the mental health hold or jail. We want the public and school to be aware of that, and we will be communicating with them about that.”
Schools Supt. Terry Martin said Monday in written comments to The New Era that “I, like the chief of police, would have liked to coordinate a communications response sooner.
“I vow to work with the chief, and all regional safety services, to get the information we can legally provide out promptly.”
Martin agreed with Ogden that the situation was complicated by new details that arose as time progressed following the initial investigation: “who discharged, where the discharge went, the actual investigation, as well as the police balancing the individual’s right to privacy.”
“Because the police deemed the situation was resolved and any potential threat to the public was mitigated upon removing this individual from the situation, that information was limitedly shared.”
City Manager Kelcey Young noted at the council meeting that her own child is a student at Foster.
“I can absolutely empathize with everybody regarding this incident, and we do feel that communication could definitely be improved here.”
She said that moving forward, she, Ogden and Police Capt. Ryan Cummings will implement a communication plan regarding incidents involving schools.
“These items will be communicated as soon as possible to the public as soon as it is safe for us to do so,” she said. “We do understand that parents need to be informed about any incidents that may impact the safety of their children to make decisions about where their children are going to school and what activities they are going to be involved in.”
She also said that the city is exploring increasing officer presence “at some of the schools.”
“This is something that we are taking extremely seriously,” Young said. “I absolutely recognize that this is a sensitive issue. Sweet Home is very, very protective of its children, and we have a strong set of officers and we’re going to be doing everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children.”
City Councilor Angelita Sanchez reminded those present that she was in a Sweet Home High School global studies classroom on Sept. 8, 1994, when 14-year-old Joshua Rund shot 15-year-old sophomore James Caldwell in the back at close range with a .22-caliber Luger semiautomatic pistol at the school. The bullet passed through Caldwell and hit the floor, and he was transported to what is now known as Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was ultimately released.
Sanchez said that the Foster School incident was “a little bit of a triggering moment” for her, adding “I’m really concerned about our kids.”
Councilor Greg Mahler noted that he was on the medic unit for the 1994 incident, “so that definitely hits home with me.”
“I know that our police chief, police officers and city manager are doing an excellent job trying to secure the safety of our students,” he said. “I take it to heart, because I have grandkids that are going through the process too. The bottom line is that we have to have the highest standards and maintain them.”
Samantha Sayles, who had been a teacher’s aide at Foster since January of 2022 and whose two children attended the school, told The New Era she pulled them out and resigned from her position because she’d lost confidence in school officials.
Sayles first became aware of the gunshots from social media posts on Monday, April 24, and immediately called the school to determine the stories’ veracity. She said a school staffer confirmed the incident and asked her how she’d learned about it.
The following day, she spoke with Principal Luke Augsburger, who told her, “it was a non-school day and it was not a threat to parents and students.”
Augsburger referred a reporter’s questions to Martin, the superintendent.
Sayles said she told school officials, “This is wrong. My trust is gone. If this is how you guys handle a situation like this, I want no part of it.”
Sayles said she “went up the chain of command,” including every school board member, adding that she believes the school district needs to regain parents’ trust.
“This is a big mistake and somebody needs to own up to it,” she said. “They need to apologize and tell us how this will be handled in the future. This man will be released some time and he will be returning.
“It takes instances like this for people to wake up. We live in a crazy world. We can’t ignore these things anymore.”
Martin noted that district personnel “work diligently on safety in our schools, from fire and seismic to lockdowns for verious threats.”
“We ask our community to help us with the safety surrounding our schools –as we are schools within communities and neighborhoods.”