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WARNING!: Description below may be disturbing to some readers.
This location marks the former site of the Oregon Museum Tavern in Salem, Oregon, which was located on the opposite corner of this intersection from here. This was the scene of a relatively unknown mass shooting that would only be known to the locals. On May 7, 1981, at 10:30 pm, 25-year-old Lawrence William Moore, an unemployed mill worker from Scio, Oregon, walked into the crowded Oregon Museum Tavern on Front Street NE during a Ladies' night event. Without saying a word, he began to fire his 9mm Browning handgun, first firing at the bar before turning the weapon at patrons who began to flee. Throughout the shooting, he spent multiple magazines. While reloading, he was overpowered and pinned to the ground by several of the patrons, held down until the police arrived.
Three people died on-site and 20 were wounded; one of whom died at the hospital later that night. Dennis Scharf eventually succumbed to his injuries nearly 32 years later. In the end, a total of 5 people lost their lives and 18 were injured. The names of the victims are below:
Lori J. Cunningham, 22 – died at the scene
John W. Cooper, 27 – died at the scene
Robert E. Hamblin, 24 – died at the scene
Allen L. Wilcox, 24 – died at hospital
Dennis Scharf, 56 – died January 19, 2013, due to complications from injuries sustained
At trial, beginning on October 6, 1981, Moore pleaded innocent to the murder charges, citing mental disease or defect as a defense; however, he admitted to being the gunman. Moore stated the reason for the shooting that he was trying to apprehend members of a 'syndicate' of millionaires, Jews and criminals who had been trying to poison him. He was found guilty of four counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to four life terms in prison.
The names of the deceased victims are included in a joint memorial wall at Oregon City's Mountain View Cemetery that memorializes some 390 people that were murdered. The memorial was dedicated by The Greater Portland Area chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Museum_Tavern_shooting
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
