In the early hours of April 14, 2018, a violent confrontation in the parking lot of Bar Fly's Grill in Salem, Oregon, escalated into a tragedy that claimed the life of 21-year-old Tyler Longacre. The male victim was caught in a burst of gunfire that erupted around 2:30 a.m., a chaotic event that also resulted in the death of 24-year-old Tobias Helms-Reese and injuries to a third man.
Deputies were called to the scene and discovered two men with gunshot wounds in the bar's parking lot.
Both were transported to a local hospital, where Helms-Reese succumbed to his injuries. A short time later, Longacre was found deceased in the nearby parking lot of a dialysis center. An autopsy would later confirm that he died from a gunshot wound. Friends and family remembered Longacre as a sweet, outgoing, and humorous young man with a contagious smile, who was excited about becoming a new father.
The investigation into the shooting led to several arrests. In the immediate aftermath, Cain G. Thompson and Santano G. Sauseda were taken into custody. A week later, Elijah Watterson was apprehended in California. Thompson and Sauseda both pleaded guilty to riot, with Sauseda also pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Watterson pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempted aggravated murder and riot, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The man responsible for Tyler Longacre's death, Lucias R. Harris, was eventually brought to justice. Following a retrial after an initial mistrial, a jury found the 44-year-old guilty of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court learned that Harris shot the unarmed Longacre as he was fleeing the initial shooting. In October 2023, Harris was sentenced to life in prison, with the stipulation that he must serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for parole.
