Eugene police investigate shooting report near Arrowhead Park, no victim found

A report of a man firing a gun in the woods just west of Arrowhead Park sent Eugene police into emergency mode Friday evening near 3550 Arrowhead Street. Officers were called shortly after 5 p.m. and treated the scene as a high-risk incident while they checked the wooded area and followed up on a truck linked to the report.

Police said the driver of that truck was taken into custody without incident and was compliant with officers. The investigation then shifted when officers determined the driver was not the shooter. Instead, police concluded he had been shot at. No gunshot victims were found.

That left neighbors and park users with hours of uncertainty around a familiar corner of south Eugene, where Arrowhead Park sits beside a wooded area and trail access along Flat Creek. Police have not said what led up to the gunfire, and the case remains under investigation. The lack of an identified victim does not mean the risk was minor; it means investigators still have to sort out exactly who fired, who was targeted, and whether anyone else was in danger in the area west of the park.

Arrowhead Park itself is more than a patch of open space. The City of Eugene says improvements were completed there in 2005 after residents approved the Parks and Open Space bond measure in November 1998. The park includes a landscaped entry area, a large informal play field, picnic tables, benches, an ADA-accessible playground, an informal basketball court, street and native trees, and access to the trail system along Flat Creek.

City officials have also pointed to the 2023 Parks and Recreation Operations and Maintenance Levy as a way to bolster park safety measures and cleanup response for park-rule violations. For families who use Arrowhead Park after hours, Friday’s response was a reminder that a quiet neighborhood park can become the center of a serious police operation in minutes, and that the outcome of an incident is not always clear until investigators finish their work.