Teen arrested after Bush's Park shooting in Salem facing murder charges

This story was updated at 6:15 p.m.

A 16-year-old South Salem High School student was arraigned Monday on second-degree murder and attempted murder in the Thursday shootings at Bush's Pasture Park that left another 16-year-old South Salem student dead and two other teens wounded.

Prosecutors say they intend to file a waiver to charge Nathaniel Shauntae McCrae Jr. as an adult.

On Friday evening, McCrae turned himself in at the Salem Police station in the company of a parent. He was taken into the custody of the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center and appeared Monday morning on the charges of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

While in juvenile custody, he will appear in court every 10 days. He remains in detention.

The Marion County District Attorney's Office must start the process of waiving the case into adult court. The 2019 Youth Justice Reform Bill passed by Oregon Legislature removes the requirement to charge 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds as adults for Measure 11 crimes, including murder and rape.

Previously, those under 18 who committed serious crimes were automatically tried as adults. Since the passage, waivers into adult court have been rare but not unheard of.

Shooting reported at Bush's Pasture Park

Gunfire erupted in the southwest corner of the park on a sunny afternoon. The shooting resulted in a six-hour park closure, the lockdown of nearby South Salem High School and a massive manhunt.

The original call to the 911 dispatch center reported a juvenile “had a gun and shot it about 15 times.” A witness told police “a group of 10-12 fled north” through the park toward Mission Street.

Salem Police responding to reports to the area of the park near High and Leffelle streets SE found three teen victims with gunshot wounds.

Jose Vasquez-Valenzuela died at the scene. A 15-year-old and 16-year-old also were struck by gunfire and rushed to Salem Health. The older teen was subsequently transferred to a Portland-area hospital for further care.

The 16-year-old is a sophomore at Roberts High School. The 15-year-old is a sophomore at Roberts High School at Chemeketa. 

The initial investigation revealed two large groups of juveniles were at the park when the gunfire erupted.

Park shootings leave community reeling

One father of a South Salem student told the Statesman Journal his son did not feel safe enough to attend school Monday after continued threats of “retaliation” against the school. Like many parents, he said he had questions about whether McCrae attended school the day of the shooting and whether he had the gun on campus.

South Salem High families were invited to participate in “a conversation about school safety” Monday night at the school.

“The events of last week have and will understandably continue to impact us in many ways, including our sense of safety,” a letter to South families said.

South Salem canceled all Friday afternoon activities and announced a two-hour delayed start Monday.

"This delay is to use this time for our staff to come together, process and prepare to welcome students and families back for this week," South Salem Principal Tara Romine said in a message to parents. "The safety, emotional health and physical well-being of our students and staff is our top priority."

She said leaders had not received any information containing a viable threat against the school. 

"We will continue to monitor tips and reports in coordination with our local law enforcement partners," Romine said. "You will see increased security in and around our school so we can continue to ensure a safe and welcoming school. In addition, we will have counseling support available onsite throughout the day."

On Monday evening, the school reported that it received a bomb threat. Officials said they were working with law enforcement, searching the campus and did not believe there was an active danger.

The Bush's Pasture Park shootings aftermath

At least two vigils were held over the weekend and a GoFundMe fundraiser was created for Vasquez-Valenzuela's family.

In a message to the community release Monday, Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack called the level of violence seen last week "unacceptable and intolerable."

Police "are closely communicating and coordinating with Salem-Keizer Public Schools for campus safety this week," Womack said. "All that excellent work though was reactive."

He said the incident highlighted the need for proactive patrols in the area leading up to the shooting.

"We do work hard to keep our community safe by patrolling our parks, schools, and all areas of Salem," Womack said. "However, we have limited capacity to do proactive, preventative patrols citywide... Police alone are not the answer, but cops are an undeniably critical piece of any violent crime reduction equation. To be blunt, I am very concerned about further reducing police staffing. We need more officers, not less."

The shootings occurred one day after Womack and Mayor Chris Hoy hosted a community meeting Wednesday night to launch a yearlong effort to reduce shootings in the city.  A 2023 report showed a 100% increase in shootings in Salem since 2018.

Rumors of Thursday's shooting being gang-involved persisted in the days that followed. Neither Salem Police nor prosecutors would confirm that the shooting was gang-related.

A 2023 Gun Violence Problem Analysis commissioned by the city noted an increase in youth violence.

Although most of the suspects involved in violent crimes were adults ages 18 to 34, juveniles comprised 18% of suspects in gun violence incidents.

Salem police arrest data shows that compared to 2018-2022, 2021-2023 had a 320% increase in the proportion of juveniles arrested for aggravated assaults and an 88% increase in juveniles arrested for weapons violations.

Salem Police's Gang Enforcement Team disbanded in 2019 after operating on-and-off for more than 20 years. The decision was driven by police leadership's preference for focusing on responding to emergency calls and on investigations based on criminal conduct, not a criminal's affiliation.

Reporters Capi Lynn and Tracy Loew contributed to this story.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth.