Teenage Pair Accused of Luring and Killing Medford Man in School Parking Lot

MEDFORD, Ore. — Medford Police arrested two teenagers on murder charges in connection with the dead man found in the parking lot of Wilson Elementary School in the 1400 block of Johnson Street. This incident is the second homicide in Medford in 2025.

Teenage Suspects Arrested In Wilson Elementary Parking Lot Murder

After a man was found dead at Wilson Elementary School on Sunday, Medford Police Department (MPD) officers arrived within minutes to find an adult male, identified as a 26-year-old Medford resident, lying near a vehicle in the parking lot.

He was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. The victim’s family has requested the name of the victim not be released.

Surveillance video obtained by the officers from the school and nearby residences showed that the shooting occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Still, no calls for service related to suspicious activity or gunshots were received at the time.

Collaborating with Medford School District personnel and School Resource Officers and using technological resources from the Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force, detectives swiftly identified both suspects involved.

According to investigators, a 15-year-old female allegedly lured the victim to the location, where her 17-year-old male accomplice confronted and shot the victim several times before fleeing the scene on foot.

A Medford Police officer found the 17-year-old male suspect riding a bicycle on Hawthorne Street on Tuesday at about 2:00 a.m. He tried to flee into Hawthorne Park but was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit.

Soon afterward, the 15-year-old female suspect was arrested at her residence in the 1500 block of Johnson Street. The names of the juvenile suspects are not being released because of their ages.

Both teenagers have been lodged at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Facility charged with Murder in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. The case has been referred to the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.