SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Keizer man was arrested Thursday night after firing a shotgun near a group of protesters in front of the Salem Police Department station, police said.
Police said Larry McFarland, 75, drove up to the sidewalk where about 20 people were had gathered earlier in the evening, The Statesman Journal reported. They were protesting the death of a 13-year-old boy by a Chicago police officer last month after authorities released body camera footage of the shooting on Thursday.
McFarland stepped out of his vehicle with the shotgun, pointed it at the crowd and fired it into the air, police said. Salem Police said no one was injured.
Officers then approached McFarland and ordered him to drop his weapon, according to police. He refused, got in his truck and left, police said.
Salem Police conducted a high-risk traffic stop nearby and arrested him, police said.
He was booked into Marion County Jail and charged with unlawful use of a firearm and two counts of menacing, according to a statement from Salem Police. It wasn’t immediately known if McFarland has a lawyer to comment on his case.
Demonstrator Jordan Williams told the newspaper that a man pulled up behind his vehicle and got out of his truck with a shotgun. He said his friend yelled out “Gun, gun, gun!” and everyone started running.