Officer involved shooting: 1 day later

Medford, Ore. — Police confirm Wayne Pearson and Shavon Willard were inside of the vehicle that officers shot at Thursday afternoon.

The area was swarmed with investigatorsThursday night. Friday, residents in the neighborhood are still trying to process just what happened.

“It was a warzone, andI was in the military,I was shocked, and whenI saw it continue, that shocked me even more,” said witness Kal Thumb.

Unafraid of the gunfire, Thumb walked out of his house and says he saw an A.T.F. agent open fire.

Medford Police say it all began when a Department of Justice officer spotted a car near the Motel 6 on Biddle Road, associated with two wanted suspects from Idaho, Wayne Pearson and Shavon Willard.

But when the suspects didn’t stop, a pursuit began.

The fugitives turned into Northcrest Circle, a cul-de-sac off of Hilton Drive, behind the Medford Best Buy.

“The police had him cornered you might say, they wanted him to stop, but he was determined to get away, so he accelerated like crazy,” said witness Jean Stullich, who saw the shooting play out from her kitchen window.

“Then they realized he was trying to get away andI heard many, many, many shots shooting at the vehicle.”

One of those shots ricocheted, almost hitting Thumb butinstead it hit his house.

“At first,I thought it was a bad guy bullet but we found out they weren’t firing,” said Thumb.

While Thumb says he is glad police were able to catch thesuspects,he thinks police used unnecessary force.

“It was non-life threantning to these officers, there was nobody shooting at them, there was no body going after them,” said Thumb.

Medford police say the truck accelerated toward the officers and intentionally struck an occupied police car.

Investigators from the Multi-agency Major Assault and Death Investigation Unit, along with the Jackson CountyDistrict Attorney’sOfficeare working the case.

District Attorney Beth Heckert says a Grand Jury will look at the evidence and determine if police used execssive force.

Per protocol, the Medford Police officers involved were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the suspects remain in stable condition at Rogue Valley Medical Center.

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