SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) — Tobias Helms-Reese was described as a protector to his mom and a good dad to his baby. But the 24-year-old was shot to death along with 21-year-old Tyler Longacre in a weekend incident that left a 3rd man wounded.
Two of the men were found outside Bar Fly’s Grill, 444 NE Salem, around 2:30 a.m. April 14. The third man was found in the parking lot of nearby DaVita. Investigators believe all 3 men were shot in the same incident.
“My son was a protector. I never had to worry about anything. Never,” Nicholl Helms said. “He was a good dad, a good son, good to his brothers and sisters.”
She is heartbroken over the loss of her son but said it doesn’t matter what led to the shooting. She just wants whoever is responsible caught.
“Nothing is going to bring my son back,” said Nicholl Helms. “We have to stay strong for each other and just remember every choice that we make affects our loved ones.”
Longacre’s neighbor, Brenda Burke, said she and her husband Jeff brought balloons and flowers to the scene to honor him.
“He was very kind, would do anything. He called me his other mom,” Burke told KOIN 6 News.
She also said he and his girlfriend were expecting a child in the coming month.
“Whoever did this, they are kind of cowardly to bring guns out and just to run off and do it like that,” Jeff Burke said.
Originally police believed a Cadillac Escalade was involved in the shooting but now believe it to be a red or maroon Ford Expedition.
The investigation is ongoing and no one is in custody. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 503.540.8079.
“There was a lot of people around so anyone come forward and help us solve this,” Brenda Burke said.