On the evening of October 29, 2020, 18-year-old Raymond Ryan Rios was shot to death on Sagebrush Road near Bensel Road, a rural area just outside Hermiston, Oregon. The shooting followed an altercation involving Rios and two members of the Madrigal family, Alejandro and his father Jaime. Alejandro Madrigal called dispatch around 8:18 p.m., reporting that his father had been shot and saying he had shot Rios and 19-year-old Hugo Madrigal-Leon in what he described as self-defense.

Responding officers found Rios and Madrigal-Leon deceased from gunshot wounds. Jaime Madrigal was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound; Alejandro sustained injuries during the altercation. Both Jaime and Alejandro cooperated with investigators as the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the Umatilla Morrow Major Crime Team and the Oregon State Police Forensics Lab worked the double homicide. No arrests had been announced and authorities reported no ongoing danger to the community.

The deaths affected Hermiston High School and the local community; the school district offered counseling to students and staff. Does anyone have information about what led up to the confrontation on Sagebrush Road?