Sheriff: Man arrested after shooting 3-year-old son in head with high-powered pellet rifle

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    NEWBERG, Oregon (KPTV) — A man is accused of shooting his 3-year-old son with a pellet gun during a domestic violence incident, then leaving him at a Newberg hospital before being arrested by police on Tuesday.

The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 call came in about a 3-year-old boy who had been shot at 23635 Northeast Sunnycrest Road. While enroute, deputies learned the suspect, identified as 46-year-old Shane Earl Rader, had fled the home in a dark-colored van with the victim and his 6-year-old brother. Rader is the biological father of the victim.

According to the sheriff’s office, Rader had been arrested for assault and violating a no-contact order the night before. He had been booked into the Yamhill County Jail and later posted bail.

At 10:45 a.m., dispatch notified deputies that the boys were dropped off at the Newberg Providence Hospital Emergency Department but Rader had left. The sheriff’s office said Rader was located and stopped by Newberg-Dundee police officers on Parrett Mountain Road near Haugen Road, just east of Newberg.

The sheriff’s office said an investigation indicates Rader unlawfully entered the home on NE Sunnycrest Road, became involved in a domestic violence altercation with the mother of the boys and threatened to kill the family. During the altercation, the sheriff’s office said Rader shot the 3-year-old boy in the head with a high-powered pellet rifle. The pellet entered the skull, causing significant injury, according to the sheriff’s office.

The 3-year-old boy was taken by helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital where he has undergone surgery and is in serious condition, the sheriff’s office said.

Rader was booked into the Yamhill County Jail on two counts of attempted aggravated murder, three counts of attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, domestic violence – strangulation, domestic violence – fourth-degree felony assault, three counts of menacing, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, criminal mistreatment, violation of release agreement for fourth-degree assault, and violation of release agreement for reckless endangering. He is being held without bail.

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