The SAIF House Shooter and the Email That Screamed “You’re Next”

So, it turns out that being the CEO of Oregon’s largest workers’ comp insurer isn’t all memos and actuarial tables. Sometimes, it means waking up to bullets punching through your front door. Which, to be clear, is not the kind of wake-up call Chip Terhune—SAIF Corporation’s head honcho—was expecting when someone decided to turn his Lake Oswego home into an impromptu shooting gallery on February 21.

Three shots. Right through the door. Which, if this were a mob hit, would be considered polite—like knocking before you kick it in. But this wasn’t the mob, and Terhune, despite presumably being a guy who can manage risk, didn’t have an SOP for “executive targeted by mystery gunman.” So the police showed up, took their notes, and then presumably did that thing where they rub their chins and say, “We’ll look into it.”

And then things got weirder.

By the weekend, Terhune had a little something to share with his employees—an email. Not just any email. This one had the distinct whiff of “I know where you live” energy. Because, in addition to the standard vague menace of an anonymous threat, it included employee names. And addresses. As if to say, “If you thought bullets in the door were unsettling, wait till you see what’s next.”

So now, everyone at SAIF has an exciting new team-building exercise: wondering if they’re on someone’s hit list. Police are, of course, investigating. Which is another way of saying, “We’ll let you know if this turns into something more than a terrifying question mark.” Meanwhile, the employees are left to process the knowledge that someone, somewhere, is apparently furious enough at an insurance company to go full action movie villain.

As for a suspect? No one knows. A motive? Also a mystery. Maybe someone got denied a claim and really took it personally. Maybe it’s deeper, darker—some high-stakes intrigue involving spreadsheets and settlement checks. Or maybe—just maybe—it’s the ultimate revenge of someone who spent three hours on hold with customer service and snapped.

Regardless, the police have their hands full. And the rest of us? We get to watch, wait, and wonder who’s writing the next email.