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Ashland officer shoots man after police respond to business alarm

A man sweeps a sidewalk in front of a business missing its store-front window.
Justin Higginbottom
/
JPR News
A worker sweeps broken glass in front of A Street Print and Parcel in Ashland following an officer-involved shooting on Oct. 26, 2026.

Several businesses had shattered windows near the shooting scene on A Street. Neither the man shot nor the Ashland officer has been publicly identified.

A police officer shot a man early Monday near downtown after responding to a business alarm, according to the Ashland Police Department.

Police said officers encountered the man leaving an area with several shattered storefront windows in the 200 block of A Street. The man allegedly approached officers with a knife before one officer shot him.

The man was taken to Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. Neither he nor the officer has been publicly identified.

Broken storefront windows and caution tape remained at the scene Monday morning. Damaged businesses included Masala Bistro & Bar and A Street Print and Parcel.

Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara told Ashland.news the man was white and in his 30s.

Jackson County District Attorney Patrick Green said his office will present the investigation’s findings to a grand jury, which he described as standard practice after police shootings. More information is expected later this week.

A memorial nearby marks the spot where Ashland resident Matthew Vandersande was shot and killed in his parked vehicle in September 2025. That murder investigation is ongoing.

Justin Higginbottom is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. He's worked in print and radio journalism in Utah as well as abroad with stints in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He spent a year reporting on the Myanmar civil war and has contributed to NPR, CNBC and Deutsche Welle (Germany’s public media organization).
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