SALEM – A suspect wanted for assaulting a police officer was arrested for trying to murder a deputy after ramming a parked sheriff's car in Southeast Salem Wednesday, police said.
Four Corners Elementary & Houck Middle School were briefly put in lockdown in the area of Lancaster Dr. SE & Durbin Ave. SE as police tried to arrest 37-year-old Willie Ray Williams.
Investigators said Williams was leaving a home in the neighborhood when he rammed a parked trailer, and then a Marion County deputy's patrol vehicle. He accelerated towards a deputy who said he made eye contact with the suspect in the rear-view mirror, police said.
The deputy was able to get out of the way and no one was hurt.
Deputies soon found him hiding in the closet of a nearby home. Williams was arrested for attempted murder of a police officer, an outstanding warrant for assaulting an officer, trying to elude and trespassing.
The school lockdowns were lifted around 12:15 p.m.
