Police identify man shot dead during standoff at home day care near Springfield

Louis Krauss, Register-Guard
·2 min read
Police shot and killed a man Monday during a standoff at a home day care south of Springfield, during which he allegedly threatened to kill a woman he had taken hostage, the Lane County Sheriff's Office reported.
Police shot and killed a man Monday during a standoff at a home day care south of Springfield, during which he allegedly threatened to kill a woman he had taken hostage, the Lane County Sheriff's Office reported.

Police on Monday shot and killed a man during a standoff at a home day care south of Springfield, during which he allegedly threatened to kill a woman he had taken hostage, according to the Lane County Sheriff's Office.

The deceased man was identified Wednesday as 50-year-old Robert Harris, according to Lane County District Attorney Patricia Perlow.

The two county deputies placed on leave after firing their guns during the standoff were identified as Lukas Thomas and Arik Schenfeld, who have been with the department since 2017 and 1999, respectively.

A report of a man assaulting a woman at the residence on South Ash Street near Second Street came in a little before 4 p.m. Monday, with the caller saying his stepfather was assaulting his mother, Sgt. Thomas Speldrich said in a news release.

Deputies evacuated seven children ages 1 to 11 from the home.

Officers learned the man had barricaded himself with a woman hostage in the basement.

Just before 4:30 p.m., deputies heard the man state he had a gun and was going to kill the woman, Speldrich said.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office special response and crisis negotiation teams, Springfield Police Department SWAT team and Oregon State Police negotiators responded.

Police made contact with the barricaded man over the phone and verbally, and negotiations continued for several hours, Speldrich said.

Just after 9:30 p.m., deputies said shots were fired and the man was down. Deputies administered first aid to the man and rushed the woman out of the residence to be taken to the hospital, Speldrich said.

Early reports found the woman suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her abdomen, Speldrich said.

Deputies tried to save the man but he did not survive.

The two deputies reported they had fired shots during the incident, Speldrich said. Both Thomas and Schenfeld have been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with the policy for deadly force incidents.

The Lane County Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Team is investigating the incident. Perlow's office did not have additional information Wednesday, including whether the deceased male fired any shots during the incident.

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Police identify man killed during standoff at home day care near Springfield