Police shoot, injure suspect in Woodlawn Neighborhood
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Police have shot and injured a suspect in the Woodlawn Neighborhood Thursday evening, authorities said.
According to Portland police, the incident happened at 6:21 p.m. in the 7000 block of Northeast 17th Avenue.
No officers were hurt. The suspect was transported by ambulance to a hospital. He is in police custody at the hospital.
The investigation is ongoing and several blocks around Northeast 17th Avenue and Northeast Bryant Street closed during the investigation, officials said.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a release that officers were attempting to arrest the suspect, whose identity has not been released, when the shooting happened.
The suspect, a man, is accused of "violent felonies involving a firearm," officials said.
PPB said "there was an exchange of gunfire" when members of the Major Crimes Unit Detectives and Members of the Special Emergency Reaction Team approached the suspect to arrest him.
Though police didn't make it clear as to whether the suspect fired his gun or not during the incident, they did say officers recovered a semiautomatic handgun "used by the suspect" that was seized as evidence. Police released a photo of the gun, seen on a vehicle seat and surrounded by broken glass.
"Three PPB officers assigned to SERT discharged firearms and injured the suspect," PPB said. "The suspect was given trauma first aid by an on-scene SERT paramedic until EMS arrived to provide advanced care and the suspect was transported to the hospital by ambulance. He remains at the hospital under police guard."
PPB homicide detectives also responded to the scene.
The three officers who fired their weapons will be placed on paid administrative leave, per standard protocol, officials said.
Chief Bob Day released a statement about the shooting, saying in part that PPB is committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the use of deadly force.
“As always I want to affirm the sanctity of life, and I recognize that any time police officers use deadly force in the course of their work, it understandably causes concern in our community,” Day said. “Proactively investigating violent crime is essential to reduce crime and the fear of crime and I’m committed that the Police Bureau will conduct a thorough investigation."
This is a developing story. KOIN 6 News will update this article if more information becomes available.