The mayor of a small Oregon town is arrested after he opened fire on an SUV carrying a family of four — including children ages 5 and 8 — on Halloween
- Rufus Mayor Dowen Jones has been arrested after allegedly shooting at a family of four on Halloween night
- Jones was spotted by the family driving “irregularly” on Highway 281 when he suddenly stopped and opened fire
- The family had slowed before Jones got out of the car for a description of the vehicle in order to report it to the police
- Two adults and two minors, aged five and eight, were in the car but were not injured
The mayor of a small town in Oregon has been arrested after allegedly opening fire on a family of four, including two children.
Rufus Mayor Dowen Jones is currently behind bars at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility after shooting two adults and two children, ages five and eight, at around 8:40 p.m. on Oct. 31.
The 47-year-old mayor was being driven “irregularly” south on Highway 281 in front of the family of four when he suddenly stopped. The family slowed to get a description of the driver to report to police and were met with gunfire.
“As the family passed the suspect vehicle, a male subject exited from the passenger side and fired multiple rounds from a handgun at the passing family,” the Hood River Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
No injuries were reported, but the family’s SUV was damaged. It is unclear if Jones was the driver of the vehicle.
Jones was charged with one count of attempted murder and four counts of attempted assault.
Police said they were unable to release a mugshot of Jones under an Oregon law that went into effect last year.
Mayor Dowen Jones of Rufus, who was arrested after allegedly shooting a family of four on Halloween night, appeared in court via video from the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility in The Dalles, Oregon
The town of Rufus with 270 inhabitants
He was later arrested and is still being held on $500,000 bail
Jones fled the scene after the altercation, but police were able to locate the vehicle and identify Jones on Tuesday.
He was later arrested and is still being held on $500,000 bail.
The mayor appeared in court on Wednesday but must hire his own lawyer. Jones will appear in court again on November 10.
Jones has been mayor of Rufus since 2018 when he received 78 votes. According to Data Commons, the small town has a population of 270 and is more than 110 miles outside of Portland.
Officials from the city of Rufus declined to comment to .
Three children were among 14 people shot dead during a gory drive-by shooting on Halloween at a Chicago vigil
Halloween was cruel for some families, including in Chicago when three children under the age of 14 were shot in a bloody drive-by.
The children, aged three, 11 and 13, were taken to hospital after two gunmen opened fire from a car on the west side of town.
Eleven other people, aged between 30 and 50, were also hit by the hail of bullets, while another was struck by the vehicle.
The victims’ conditions ranged from critical to non-life threatening after the recent horror attack that rocked Chicago.
The group had attended a vigil on the street corner around 9.30pm, with a balloon launch scheduled for later that evening, it is not known at this time who the vigil was for.
There is no known motive for the shooting.