Mayor of small Oregon town is arrested after opening fire on SUV carrying family-of-four  

The mayor of a small town in Oregon was arrested after he allegedly opened fire on a family of four, including two children.  

Dowen Jones, mayor of Rufus, is currently behind bars at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility after he fired shots at two adults and two children, aged five and eight, on October 31 around 8.40pm. 

The mayor, 47, was spotted driving ‘erratically’ south on Highway 281 in front of the family of four when he suddenly pulled over. The family slowed down in an attempt to get a description of the driver to report to the police and were met with gunfire. 

‘As the family passed the suspect vehicle, a male subject stepped out of the passenger side and fired multiple rounds from a handgun at the passing family,’ Hood River Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement. 

No injuries were reported, but the family’s SUV was damaged. It’s unclear of Jones was the driver of the vehicle. 

Jones was charged with one count of attempted murder and four counts of attempted assault. 

Police said they are unable to release a mugshot of Jones per an Oregon law that went into effect last year.

Mayor Dowen Jones of Rufus, who was arrested after allegedly shooting at a family of four on Halloween night, appeared in court via video from the the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility in The Dalles, Oregon

The town of Rufus with a population of 270 people 

He was later arrested and is still held with bail set to $500,000

Jones fled the scene following the altercation but police were able to locate the vehicle and identify Jones on Tuesday. 

He was later arrested and is still held with bail set to $500,000. 

The mayor appeared in court on Wednesday but will have to hire his own attorney. Jones will appear back in court on November 10. 

Jones has served as mayor of Rufus since 2018 when he received 78 votes. According to Data Commons, the small town has a population of 270 people and is located more than 110 miles outside of Portland. 

Officials at the City of Rufus declined to comment to DailyMail.com.

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Three children were among 14 people shot during a bloody Halloween drive-by shooting at a vigil in Chicago 

Halloween was gruesome for some families, including in Chicago when three children were among 14 shot during a bloody drive-by. 

The kids, aged three, 11, and 13, were rushed to hospital after two gunmen opened fire from a car on the city’s west side.

Eleven others, aged from their 30s to their 50s were also struck by the hail of bullets, while another was hit by the vehicle.

The victims’ conditions ranged from critical to non-life threatening following the latest horror attack to rock Chicago.

The group had been attending a vigil on the street corner around 9.30pm, with a balloon release scheduled for later in the evening, it is unknown at this time who the vigil was for.

There is no known motive for the shooting.