On the morning of January 16, 1992, 12-year-old Nathan McMurry Thomas was killed inside his Portland, Oregon home during an attempted rescue by police. Officers had been investigating a neighborhood burglary when a police dog tracked a suspect to the Thomas residence. A window had been forced open and the suspect, 20-year-old Bryan Templin French, was found in Nathan’s bed holding a knife to the boy’s throat.

Nathan’s parents and younger brother retreated to another room while officers entered. The intruder moved with Nathan to the top of the stairs and kept the child as a human shield. Believing Nathan was in immediate danger, three officers opened fire. Both Nathan and French were struck; French died at the scene after being hit by 14 shots, and Nathan suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and died at a hospital a few hours later. A grand jury reviewed the officers’ actions and no other arrests were made. A suicide note was later found in French’s apartment.

If anyone knew Nathan or has information about what happened that night, please share what you remember.