A tree worker was shot and killed allegedly by a co-worker on the job on September 14, 2021, in Portland, Oregon.
Ryan Muniz of Keizer, Ore., died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds.
The suspect, Johnathan Gonzales-Salcido, 24, of Salem, Ore., reportedly ran away on foot and was found a short time later pushing a lawnmower down the road, apparently in an attempt to remain inconspicuous. He was arrested and booked on charges of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
Muniz and Gonzales-Salcido were both employed by a Salem-area tree service and were working at home when the shots were fired in the backyard. It was unclear what led up to the shooting, according to a KOIN 6 News report.
“The tree-felling company was there doing their work right, saws were buzzing away,” a neighbor told KPTV FOX 12 news.
The neighbor was outside and heard a tree fall and then what seemed like an argument.
“It was really hard to understand what was going on if it was just co-workers going at each other, you know, doing whatever co-workers might do, yelling at each other, and it immediately escalated within 15, 20 seconds of the log hitting the ground, two shots,” the neighbor said, according to the KPTV FOX 12 report.
