Two people were killed in what police determined to be a murder-suicide in southwest Canby Saturday night, which was not discovered until Sunday.
Canby Police and Fire initially responded to the scene in the 300 block of Southwest 6th Avenue on a reported medical call that an Amazon delivery driver phoned in at approximately 5:54 p.m. Sunday.
“It was called in by an Amazon worker who was delivering a package to the residence,” Canby Police Chief Jorge Tro told the Current Monday. “The garage door was open, and they saw what appeared to be two people on the garage floor, bleeding.
“They did a very good job in seeing something and calling 9-1-1. I feel sorry for them. I’m sure it was not a nice scene to see.”
First responders arrived and located two individuals, a man and a woman in their 50s, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. A firearm was recovered at the scene, Tro said.
On Tuesday morning, Canby Police identified the victims as Michelle Calonge, 54, and Shad Bruns, 49. The investigation by Canby Police found that Bruns shot and killed Calonge, then himself, Tro said.
Neighbors reported hearing the gunshots the previous evening, around 7 p.m. Saturday. It was not immediately clear how the bodies were not discovered until almost 24 hours later.
The home was secured by Canby Police officers and detectives from the Clackamas County Major Crimes Team arrived to assist in the investigation. Chaplains from the Canby Fire District were also on scene to help locate and notify family members.
“This is obviously a tragic situation, and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the incident,” Tro said.
Also left in the wake of the tragedy were three pets: a silver-black lab and chocolate lab, along with a 15-year-old orange tabby cat. Abundance of Love Pet Services is working with the executor of the victims’ estates to find a good home for the animals. If interested, call 503-805-9876.
The killing is the first murder in Canby city limits in more than eight years, when 43-year-old Grants Pass resident Edward Kelly Spangler was found dead beside his SUV at Locust Street Park in February 2014, in a drug-related shooting.
The shooter in that case, Michael Arlan Orren, 27 at the time, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and first-degree robbery the following February and was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Two alleged accomplices, Francis Paul Weaver and Shannon Bettencourt, also ultimately pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime and were given lighter sentences.
Three and a half years ago, the community was rocked by a shocking and tragic quadruple homicide committed by Mark Leo Gregory Gago, who killed four of his own family members, including his infant daughter. Gago was shot and killed by deputies who arrived on scene and found him reportedly in the act of attempting to strangle a fifth victim, an 8-year-old girl.
But that crime occurred about 10 minutes outside of town on South Barlow Road, between Canby and Hubbard, and the initial response and investigation were led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
