Late in the night of July 10, 2021, at around 1:30 a.m., the air around Woody’s Cantina on Hawthorne Avenue Northeast in Salem, Oregon, was ruptured by gunfire. Inside the bar, chaos ensued as the 29‑year‑old male victim, Erlin Adonay Rivas‑Lopez—a man of Hispanic descent—lost his life in a tragic shooting. He was identified posthumously as a 29‑year‑old male resident of Salem, Oregon.
Another victim, a 27‑year‑old male resident of the same city, Jose Pablo Arrevalo, was also slain that night.
When Salem police arrived, patrons were fleeing the scene in panic. Officers pushed into the cantina, ensuring the threat had ended. They found two individuals grievously wounded. Erlin Adonay Rivas‑Lopez, the 29‑year‑old male victim, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the 27‑year‑old male victim was taken to Salem Health, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The brutal loss of Erlin Adonay Rivas‑Lopez, a 29‑year‑old male of Hispanic heritage, resonated through the community. The Gun Violence Archive recorded the incident, pinpointing Woody’s Cantina, located at 1486 Hawthorne Avenue NE, as the scene of this fatal shooting on July 10, 2021. Memorial websites echoed the sorrow, marking the tragic death of Erlin Adonay Rivas‑Lopez, age 29, noting that he was "lost to gun violence" in Salem on that date.
In the days that followed, authorities focused on locating and arresting a suspect. On July 19, 2021, a breakthrough came when police detained a 21‑year‑old male suspect named Nivardo Ramirez Monge in Nevada. The apprehension was directly tied to the double homicide at Woody’s Cantina. Efforts were underway to transport Ramirez Monge to Oregon to face charges in connection with the deaths, including that of the 29‑year‑old male victim Erlin Adonay Rivas‑Lopez.
Yet, as of mid‑July 2021, the investigation remained active. At that point, the Salem Police had not released further details—no motive had been confirmed, and the identity of any accomplices, if present, was not disclosed.
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The narrative of that night remains deeply affecting. Erlin Adonay Rivas-Lopez, a 29-year-old male of Hispanic descent, was among two men slain in a shocking act of violence at his hometown bar. The rapid arrest of the 21-year-old suspect in Nevada marked a pivotal step toward establishing accountability, though many questions lingered as investigations continued.
