Date: May 26, 2026

Case #s: 2026-00027396, 2026-00025875

Incident: Bend Police share gun safety reminders in wake of two recent accidental discharges

Date / Time of Incidents: May 24, 2026 / 11:48 a.m. 
May 16, 2026 / 2:31 p.m. 

Locations: 1900 block of NE Zachary Court, Bend 
1700 block of SE Tempest Drive, Bend 

Arrested: Dylan James Plymale, 27-year-old Bend resident  
Offenses: Reckless Endangering x2, Assault IV, Criminal Mischief II

Arrested: Preston Wayne Cooper, 37-year-old Bend resident 
Offenses: Reckless Endangering 

In the past two weeks, Bend Police have responded to two separate incidents of gun owners accidentally discharging handguns in their homes, putting neighbors at risk. 

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, Bend Police received a call reporting a family member had found evidence that a bullet had traveled through an elderly woman’s apartment wall, mattress and box springs, closet doors and lodged in a box of medical equipment. Investigating officers learned that on Thursday, May 14, the woman told family members she’d heard a loud noise in the spare bedroom and that her neighbor, later identified as 37-year-old Preston Wayne Cooper, came over to ask to borrow a cup of sugar shortly after the loud noise. 

Officers also learned that Cooper had pawned a firearm on May 16. On May 18, officers served a search warrant on Cooper’s apartment and located multiple firearms and ammunition, as well as a bullet hole in the apartment’s wall. Cooper was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangering. 

In a separate case, at approximately 11:48 a.m. on Sunday, May 24, Bend Police received a call from the tenant of a townhome on NE Zachary Court, who reported his neighbor had discharged his weapon and the bullet had passed through the wall. 

When officers arrived, 27-year-old Dylan James Plymale reported he had been cleaning his firearms and thought the handgun was unloaded when he tossed it onto the coffee table and it fired a round. The bullet went through the neighbor’s television and shrapnel from the television struck the neighbor. An investigation determined that Plymale was practicing drawing his handgun when it fired. 

Plymale was arrested on suspicion of two counts of reckless endangering, fourth-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief. 

Bend Police would like to remind gun owners of the importance of responsible ownership. It is your responsibility to know how to properly handle any firearm you own, and to secure your firearms in a safe manner. Always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction, even when you believe you are handling an unloaded gun. Keep your finger off the trigger – the only time you should touch the trigger is when you are prepared to fire it. Never assume a firearm is unloaded – the first thing you should do when you pick up a gun is to check that it is unloaded.