Ashland, OR. – Official Release: On September 7th, 2025, at 3:38 AM, Ashland Police Officers and Paramedics from Ashland Fire & Rescue (AFR) were dispatched to a report of person laying on the ground next to a vehicle near ‘A’ Street and North 2nd Street, Ashland. Officers arrived to find a male who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics confirmed the male was deceased upon their arrival, and a homicide investigation was initiated.
The Jackson County Major Assault/Death Investigation Unit was activated by Ashland Detectives, which brought personnel from the Medford Police Department, Oregon State Police, Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office, Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab.
At this time, the investigation has revealed that the victim was inside his parked vehicle on ‘A’ Street, near North 2nd Street, when an unidentified suspect approached the vehicle and fired multiple rounds at the victim, striking him several times. The suspect can be seen on security camera footage from nearby businesses fleeing the scene toward North Pioneer Street on ‘A’ Street following the shooting. The suspect appeared to be wearing dark clothing.
It is not believed that this incident was random, as it appears this was a targeted attack on the victim. There is no indication of a specific public threat at this time.
The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Matthew Mark Vandersande, of Ashland. Next of kin has been notified.
We are asking for the public’s assistance to identify additional investigative leads. If you have any information that you feel may be helpful to the investigation, or you have surveillance cameras in the area that may have caught footage of the incident or suspect between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM, please contact Detective Sergeant Rick Spence at 541-552-2172 or the Ashland Police Department Tip Line at 541-552-2333.
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