Clerk who ambushed Bend gunman was sentenced to 10 years in military prison for sex crimes – OregonLive

A Safeway employee who had served in the U.S. Army for two decades confronted a gunman in the produce section of the Bend, Oregon, supermarket, possibly preventing more casualties from a shooting that left the employee and one other person dead. Police said Ethan B. Miller, 20, shot and killed the employee and himself after shooting at the Safeway in the Forum Shopping Center.

Donald Ray Surrett Jr., 66, was the employee who was shot and killed at the Forum shopping center in east Bend.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz and Bend Police Communications Manager Shelia Miller gave updates on the shooting that happened at a Safeway on Aug. 28, 2022.

Despite his recent heroic actions, Surrett had a dark criminal past. He served in the Army for 20 years, and while he was serving he made disturbingly criminal choices.

Surrett was convicted of sex crimes while in the Army and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was listed as a level-one sex offender by Oregon State Police.

A fellow veteran claimed that Surrett disclosed having been incarcerated but didn’t like to talk about it. He still put his life on the line, the veteran said.

A spokesperson for Safeway said Surrett passed a background check and had no criminal record in Oregon.

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