Aug 29 (Reuters) - A 20-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Ore., was one of two people who could have lost more lives by a store employee who struggled with him for the gun. killed, authorities said Monday.
The shooter, who lived in an apartment complex adjacent to the store, was identified by police as Ethan Blair Miller, 20. He took his own life before officers could fire a single shot, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters at a news conference.
Store employee Donald Ray Surrett Jr., 66, tried to disarm Miller near the produce section and was killed during the confrontation.
"He may have prevented more deaths," Krantz said.
A customer of the store, 84-year-old Glenn Edward Bennett, was also killed in the shooting. Two other people suffered minor injuries.
Police said Miller pulled into the parking lot of the Forum Mall around 7 p.m. on Sunday from the Fox Hollow Apartments with an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun. A second shotgun and three Molotov cocktails were found in his car.
Officials declined to speculate on a motive for the rampage and said they were looking into social media reports that may be linked to the shooter. Digital devices were found in his home, police said.
Officers immediately responded to 911 calls and entered the store while shots were still being fired, Krantz said. They found Miller dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting in Bend, a community of 100,000 people 160 miles (258 km) southeast of Portland, follows a series of mass shootings in the United States over the past several months.
