REDMOND, OR -- A Redmond man is accused of assault and other charges, following an incident that put Obsidian Middle School on alert and shut down roads in the area, Friday afternoon. Witnesses say the man hit a woman in the head with a gun and may have shot out the tires of a car, near 15th and Obsidian Avenue.
Redmond Police Lt. Curtis Chambers tells KBND News the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Steven Arce, locked himself in his house, across the street from the school. "Due to the potential of a firearm involved, Obsidian Middle School was placed on a 'lockout,' and then we made the decision with Redmond School District officials to evacuate Obsidian Middle School to MA Lynch Elementary as a precautionary measure, to insure the safe pickup and bus pickup of children, as this incident moved on towards school release time." Lynch Elementary did not have school, Friday.
Deschutes County Sheriff's Office personnel responded to the area to assist, as well as officers from Bend Police and Oregon State Police. Sheriff Shane Nelson says, "The suspect had barricaded himself inside a residence that was near the school. My son goes to Obsidian Middle School and says the School Resource Officer Paul did a wonderful job going around and locking the doors, and having an active presence inside the school." He adds, "Our deputies also responded to the call to assist, and aided parents in picking up their Obsidian Middle School students, as well as taking some of the students home that would normally walk home, due to the safety threat, there."
Streets were closed around the house for several hours while the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team (CERT) moved into place. Lt. Chambers says, "Negotiators were able to contact Mr. Arce and he agreed to come out and surrender himself to law enforcement where he was taken into custody without injury to himself or law enforcement. No shots were fired by law enforcement during this incident."
Arce is charged with Second Degree Assault, Coercion, Menacing and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. He's due in court, Monday afternoon.
