A Clackamas County man is facing multiple felony charges after authorities say he fired more than 200 rounds during a shooting and standoff on South Rocky Bluff Lane on August 29, targeting a tree-cutting crew and a sheriff’s office drone before deputies used a SWAT vehicle to pin his tractor against a house.
Erik Gordon Shunn, 53, was arraigned Monday on charges including Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Recklessly Endangering, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Menacing, Unlawful Possession of Firearms, Attempted Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, and Interfering with a Peace Officer, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to the area after Shunn allegedly opened fire toward arborists working nearby. A sheriff’s office drone flying over the residence to locate Shunn during the response captured him allegedly firing at the aircraft while seated on the ground outside the home.
“Investigators now believe Shunn fired over 200 rounds during the entirety of the Aug. 29 shooting incident and subsequent SWAT standoff on S. Rocky Bluff Lane,” the sheriff’s office said. “This includes rounds fired at the arborists, plus additional rounds fired into the air at a Sheriff’s Office drone flying over the residence to determine Shunn’s position.”
Video from the standoff shows Shunn later driving a tractor near the house before a SWAT vehicle rammed the tractor, pinning it against the building. He appeared to surrender shortly after.
Shunn appeared virtually for his arraignment and was ordered held without bail. “I’m pretty confused and I’m confused about the whole thing,” he told the court, according to KOIN.
A prosecuting attorney told KOIN that Shunn’s record included stalking protective orders and that he was barred from possessing firearms at the time of the incident.
Neighbors told KPTV that Shunn seemed to change roughly 10 years ago, after his brother and his brother’s wife were murdered in Washington state.
Shunn reportedly claimed the trees being removed stood on his property, but the neighbor who hired the crew, Tricia Achenbach, said the trees were on her land. Achenbach described the moment the shooting began, saying, “They were screaming at me to call the police to do something. So finally, we had to.”
Authorities said Shunn’s elderly mother was inside the home during the standoff but was not injured. No one was hurt in the incident.
