18-year-old sentenced for 2022 Salem shooting

MARION COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) - The Marion County District Attorney’s Office said an 18-year-old has been sentenced Thursday in both juvenile and adult court for the shooting of two young women in 2022.

Saul Sosa-Medina will serve 70 months at the Oregon Youth Authority, but is eligible for release halfway through his sentence.

On Aug. 8, 2022, then 17-year-old Sosa-Medina shot a 17-year old and 23-year-old in the hip and hand. Both women were taken to an area hospital and survived.

Authorities said the motive behind the shooting is still unclear. The investigation revealed that Sosa-Medina was one of three boys walking through the Evergreen Park Apartment’s parking lot, where both women were outside. Witnesses told authorities that Sosa-Medina fired one shot then ran away.

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Salem police arrested Sosa-Medina in less than an hour near Englewood Park, matching the description of the shooter provided by the two women. Sosa-Medina was held for violating curfew and trespassing.

Sosa-Medina denied firing the gun, but admitted to law enforcement that he was in the area. He also admitted to being an active gang member. At the time of the shooting, Sosa-Medina was on parole from the Oregon Youth Authority for criminal mischief, reckless burning and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Sosa-Medina was initially charged in juvenile court, but due to the severity of the crime, the attorney’s office tried to waived him into adult court. Sosa-Media agreed to an adult conviction for the lesser offense of assault while also being sentenced in juvenile court.

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