Oregon Homeless Shelter Stabbing: 11 Hospitalized, Suspect Arrested

Police have arrested a man in connection with a stabbing at a mission in Salem, Oregon that left 11 people injured on June 1.

Salem Police responded to the stabbing incident at Union Gospel Mission of Salem north of downtown at about 7:15 p.m. on June 1.

Almost a dozen people were taken to Salem Health hospital with various injuries,, and a male suspect, who was not identified, was arrested, police said.

The mission is a faith-based organization on the front lines of the homelessness crisis. Upward of 150 homeless men seek refuge at the mission each night and have access to support services, including food, shelter, clothing, showers, case management and counseling.

The building is across the street from Salem Police headquarters.

Union Gospel Mission of Salem Executive Director Craig Smith said the incident originated inside the building near the front entrance, and an unknown number of staff and bystanders inside and outside the building were stabbed.

"It's a really awful situation," Smith said.

Because the attack did not happen in the shelter area, shelter residents did not have to be evacuated. Smith said the mission will continue serving the community in the morning.

"Our staff and the guests and our New Life Fellowship guys... they're all really shaken, as you can imagine," he said.

'It's like a horror movie'

Malik Law, who witnessed the incident, said he saw a man stab at least seven people.

“Everybody was basically trying to move out of his way,” Law said. “He started attacking them.”

Dan Mills, 62, who lives at the mission, said he was working at the front desk when the man came in. He said other workers were trying to get the man to leave because the building was closed when the incident began.

“I just heard a scream,“ Mills said. “I was standing right at the front desk, I was probably no more than 10 feet away, and he stabbed one of the staff members.”

Mills said he had never seen the man before.

Bobby Epperly, 48, who lives at the mission, said he was on the second floor of the building when he saw the man outside screaming at traffic and holding a knife.

Epperly didn’t realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building, he said, until he went downstairs and saw “blood everywhere.”

“It’s like a horror movie,” he said.

Union Gospel Mission of Salem serves homeless population

The 57,000 square feet men’s mission opened in July 2021 after leaving its longtime facility downtown next to the Marion Street Bridge.

The mission includes space for sleeping, ranging from dorm-style shelters to transitional housing and apartment-style living for those moving through its recovery program.

The mission also has showers available even for those not staying at the shelter, 24-hour bathroom access, community rooms, career training, a computer education center, GED program, on-site health clinic and access to mental health services.

Smith, the executive director, commended the hard work of the staff and the quick response of Salem Police and emergency responders.

"They came immediately and transported people," he said. "It was just a phenomenal and merciful movement of God that they were here."

Smith asked for the community's prayers as they recover from the incident.