Tipster speaks out after helping police arrest man who shot two Portland Police officers
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A weeklong manhunt concluded Monday morning with the arrest of 41-year-old Eric Oelkers, accused of shooting two Portland Police Officers on Jan 19.
Oelkers was arrested across the street from the Park Shuttle 'n' Fly off NE 82nd and Columbia, approximately six miles from where the shooting took place in the Lloyd District.
Employees at the Park 'n' Fly say they had issues with Oelkers in the past and believe he had been living in a wooded area across the street from their business for some time.
Iva Ivancheva said she recognized Oelkers the minute she saw his picture on social media the day after the shooting.
"First time I encountered the suspect was on Dec. 13 at approximately 11:15 p.m.," she said, noting that she had returned to the business after dropping some customers off at the airport to find a man ready to face off in a fist fight with one of her coworkers.
READ MORE | Suspect caught a week after shooting of 2 Portland Police officers
Her manager says the man had been harassing another employee for months before this incident and they believe he had slashed that employee's tires and vandalized other employees' vehicles. They say the police had been called before due to the harassment.
"I tried taking pictures [and] videos wherever I could, and I was able to take one good picture [of the fight]. At some point, a third one of my coworkers came out and the suspect pulled a gun on us," she said she immediately called 9-1-1, and the man fled when he heard her making the call.
The shooting of two police officers in the Lloyd district took place just a little over a month later.
"I woke up the following morning and I was scrolling through Facebook pretty early and saw the picture of the suspect, and I immediately knew that that's him," Ivancheva said.
READ MORE | Two officers shot, injured in NE Portland's Lloyd District; suspect still at large
She said she called the tip in to police and provided them with the image she took the night of Dec 13. Court documents note that her tip led them to track his movements following the shooting.
"Ivancheva reported that over the past several months, a man had been damaging vehicles in their lot and getting into confrontations with staff. She further reported that on one occasion, the man displayed a knife and a small black handgun. Ivancheva reported seeing this man on Jan. 19, 2026, and sent a photograph of the individual from an incident in December," the probable cause affidavit reads. "Sgt. McKinley compared the photo provided by Ivancheva with a photo of the suspect from the shooting and believed they appeared very similar. Ivancheva provided additional information to police about the timing of when she would usually see this individual."
Ivancheva said following her tip to police, she observed investigators staking out the area undercover until they ultimately arrested Oelkers in the wooded areas across the street from the Park Shuttle 'n' Fly.
A spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) declined to comment on any previous investigations of police reports made following the Dec 13 incident at Park Shuttle 'n' Fly, noting that this is an active investigation.
Oelkers appeared erratic in court on Tuesday, refusing to cooperate with this attorney and yelling that "Trump is coming" and claiming that the "government" is using "neurotransmitters" to manipulate "white Republican Christians" while collaborating with Antifa.
Oelkers has a lengthy criminal history with both federal and state convictions dating back decades. He had an active bench warrant at the time he was accused of shooting two police officers. The warrant stems from a 2022 charge, accusing him of robbing a credit union on 2100 NE Sandy Blvd. after threatening the teller by saying he had a gun. It is unknown if he possessed a gun at the time. A judge allowed Oelkers' release pre-trial and the warrant was issued after he failed to check in for pre-trial service. The charges have been pending since then.
Oelkers also has pending charges in Marion County, where he was arrested during protests at the State Capitol in late December 2020. Though he was not charged for taking part in what was declared an "unlawful assembly," the DA later filed charges for an incident that took place a few weeks prior to the protest. He's accused of targeting a Salem business for vandalism based on the owner's race.
Court documents note that the two officers who were shot on Jan. 19, 2026, had been responding to a 9-1-1 call from a man saying he had been threatened with a knife near his home. The man stayed on the phone with police as he tracked his alleged attacker's position.
According to court documents, the officers located the suspect, now identified as Eric Oelkers.
According to court documents, during their interaction, the two officers asked Oelkers to place his hands on his head. Oelkers reportedly said he would not. The documents describe how Oelkers reached toward his right hip, which was angled away from the officers. He raised a handgun and fired shots, striking the officers. Oelkers then ran away.
According to the court documents, one of the officers was shot in the upper right thigh, the bullet shattering his femur. The other officer was shot in his upper right arm and the left side of his neck, which took off a piece of his ear.
Portland Police said that both officers are now at home recovering from their injuries.
According to the court documents, detectives said they located seven shell casings at the scene.
Court documents note that investigators later located some of Oelkers' clothing items and tested DNA on the clothing, which came back with a positive match for Oelkers on Jan. 23.
