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A Marion County grand jury has found that the actions of an Oregon State Police trooper who shot and killed a knife-wielding man were justified.
According to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, Matthew Walter Wong (22) was shot and killed by Senior Trooper Justin Oxenrider on 27 February 2025 when he refused to obey commands and, wielding a knife, stormed the trooper.
Note Threatened to Kill Everybody at the Base
The incident occurred at the Oregon National Guard Air Station in Salem when Wong handed a note listing demands to a guard.
The note threatened to ‘kill everybody at this base’ if the demands were not met within 10 minutes. A 911 call was made at about 10 a.m.
According to the DA Office, this was the second time in three days that Wong had approached the guard shack.
They said Oxenrider was about three miles away when he heard the report over the radio and, instead of a training session with his police dog, proceeded to the guard post.
Oxenrider heard that there was a warrant for Wong’s arrest, while other troopers on the radio said Wong had pulled a knife on police in a previous encounter.
When Oxenrider arrived at the air station, he saw Wong sitting on a bench and asked how he was doing. Wong stood up and began to walk away with his hands in his pockets. Oxenrider ordered him to take his hands out of his pockets. He refused, saying he would leave, and began walking away.
The DA office said Oxenrider believed Wong was a threat to the community.
Testifying before the grand jury on Friday, Oxenrider said he deployed his stun gun twice during the encounter- – the first attempt missed Wong, and the second time, the stun gun failed to make the necessary contact to be effective.
Oxenrider said the two were involved in a brief struggle, during which Wong took a swipe with a knife at Oxenrider. He also refused to obey the trooper’s commands to drop the knife, instead continuing to walk toward a nearby road.
Oxenrider then drew his gun and fired twice when he saw Wong turn toward him and act aggressively. Both bullets struck Wong. He took several steps before falling to the ground and dying at the scene.
The DA Office released a video from Oxenrider’s body camera and a news release on Friday.
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