MYNORTHWEST NEWS

5 in hospital after dozen stabbed at Pacific Northwest homeless shelter

Jun 2, 2025, 4:20 PM | Updated: 7:26 pm

pacific northwest homeless shelter oregon stabbing...

A photo of a Salem Police Department vehicle. (Photo courtesy of the Salem Police Department)

(Photo courtesy of the Salem Police Department)

Five people remain hospitalized with serious injuries after a dozen were stabbed at a homeless shelter in the Pacific Northwest.

The incident happened at the Union Gospel Mission in Salem, Oregon, on Sunday night.

“The suspect had entered the shelter and was speaking to individuals in the lobby when he produced a knife and stabbed several people,” Salem Police Department Public Information Officer Angela Hedrick said, adding the suspect also attacked those who tried to intervene.

Suspect arrested after 12 stabbed at Pacific Northwest homeless shelter

The man then walked outside and allegedly continued stabbing people. He was arrested a short time later. Police recovered a knife with an eight-inch blade.

Hedrick said the victims are all men, whose ages range from 26 to 57.

“Two of the victims are Union Gospel Mission staff members, and others were either guests of the shelter or the suspect encountered them outside the building,” she told KIRO Newsradio.

The suspect is a 42-year-old man who had been traveling from Portland to Deschutes County when he got off a bus in Salem prior to the attack.

He is currently in custody at the Marion County Jail on charges of second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, according to Hedrick. However, more charges are possible.

Read more of Heather Bosch’s stories here.

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