A UPS driver was arrested in connection with the shooting of a driver on an Oregon shooting Wednesday, and he is suspected in six other shootings along the main road that have occurred since late May, state police said Friday.
Kenneth Ayers, 49, of Roseburg, was arrested Thursday at 11 a.m. and is charged with attempted murder and other charges, according to Oregon State Police. The shooting on Interstate 5 that Ayers is suspected of carrying out began on May 12.
A woman was shot Wednesday night in a Jackson County neighborhood as she drove north, and she was treated and released, police said. There were no injuries in the other shootings.
No motive has been confirmed, police said.
It was not immediately clear if Ayers had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He was held Friday night in lieu of $ 1 million bail, according to online jail records. Attempts to find relatives and reach them by telephone were unsuccessful on Friday night.
State police said they learned a UPS truck may have been involved in the shooting, and after the woman was shot Wednesday, police found the UPS tractor trailer about 60 miles north of the scene.
That truck was seized, and police said in a statement that “during the search of the truck, a firearm was discovered that matched the type used.”
State police would not indicate the type of gun. Police said UPS has been involved in the investigation since the beginning of the probe.
UPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night. The shipping company said in a statement to Medford’s NBC affiliate KOBI that, “We are delighted to hear about these allegations and to cooperate fully with the responding authorities.”
“Firearms are prohibited at UPS facilities and in our vehicles, and we are extremely concerned about the other alleged motorists and individuals,” the UPS statement told the station.
The shootings that Ayers is suspected of carrying out took place in Josephine, Jackson and Douglas counties, which stretch from the California border to south of Eugene.
