NYSSA, Oregon — A Nyssa Police Department officer was fatally shot at approximately 8:20 p.m. in Nyssa, Oregon on April 15.
Officer Joseph Johnson (43) was dispatched to a call regarding a violent individual damaging property and threatening others in a residence near Nyssa. While responding, Officer Johnson learned the suspect Rene Castro (36) fled in a vehicle and began pursuit through the city.
The vehicle stopped at a residence at the corner of Locust and 3rd Street N. which Officer Johnson followed and pulled off the road. An armed subject then immediately began firing and Officer Johnson was fatally hit.
EMTs arrived after Johnson was deceased. Oregon State Police and the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office began a search for the suspect which would last until the early in the morning of April 17.
At approximately 7:40 A.M., OSP SWAT personnel took Rene Castro into custody. Neither Castro nor SWAT personnel were injured during his arrest-https://t.co/JPadw8NQvP
— Oregon State Police (@ORStatePolice) April 17, 2023
Thank you to the investigators who have worked tirelessly for the past 36 hours. https://t.co/aTc2VetInM
Ontario Police were accompanied by the Oregon State Swat Team, Malheur County Sheriff's Office, members of the FBI and several other agencies at approximately 6:40 a.m. when they surrounded a residence in the 600 block of Northwest First Street just north of downtown Ontario.
Officers spent the next hour calling occupants from the home before Castro exited and was taken into custody. No injuries were reported for Castro or the officers in the arrest process.
