Brother arrested for fatal January shooting at Horning’s Hideout

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. – The brother of a Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue firefighter who was shot and killed in January has been charged with murder and arrested, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.

A grand jury indicted Robert Horning on Monday, and he was arrested and taken to the Washington County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon. According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, the Tactical Negotiations Team assisted with the arrest, but he was ultimately taken into safe custody.

The shooting occurred on the morning of Jan. 2 at Horning’s Hideout, a recreation center and wedding and concert venue in North Plains. Officers found Carl Horning, 47, with multiple gunshot wounds; he died at the scene. Robert Horning, 63, was detained for several hours but then released.

The sheriff’s office described Robert Horning as a person of interest in the case at the time, but did not provide further details about the circumstances of the shooting and there were no further updates from law enforcement until the charges and arrest were announced Monday.

Carl Horning joined TVF&R in 2016 after serving five years as a firefighter and equipment operator with Washington County Fire District #2. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2023.

The Horning’s Hideout website states that Carl and Robert’s parents, Richard and Jane Horning, originally purchased the property and began converting it into a private park and recreation area. Richard Horning died in 1985, but the rest of the family continued to develop the park.

Last year, Carl Horning and his sister, LaDonna Elliot, filed for a guardianship for Jane Horning. Court documents in the case say Jane Horning was one of the owners of Horning’s Hideout, but was experiencing memory problems and was caught in a “tug of war” between her six children, who allegedly pressured her into different and conflicting courses of action regarding the business.