PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — A federal court security officer shot a man during an “altercation” at Pioneer Courthouse on Monday morning, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported.
The person was taken to the hospital. Police said they don’t believe the man’s injuries are life-threatening. The security officer, whom PPB said was an employee of the United States Marshal Service, was also taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening “injuries related to an assault.” The officer was not shot.
Police did not identify the man who was shot or the security officer. Police didn’t say what led up to the shooting, only that there was “an altercation between the federal guard and a person here at Pioneer Courthouse Square.”
Southwest 6th Avenue is closed between Southwest Morrison Street and Southwest Yamhill Street, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Pioneer Courthouse Square is also closed, PPB said. A police spokesperson said MAX trains are still running in the city but are not stopping at the station near Pioneer Square.
The shooting happened around 6:31 a.m. Monday. PPB Central Precinct officers who responded found the man injured in the street and provided first aid before paramedics arrived, police said.
Jason Roark, who told KGW he witnessed the shooting, said it started when the man walked up and threw a drink at the courthouse doors. The witness said the security guard told the man, “she’s not here,” after which the man tried to gain access to the building, leading to an altercation between the man and the guard. The witness said the man placed the guard in a chokehold and the guard then shot the man twice.
“They were tussling pretty aggressively,” Roark said. “The suspect was getting the best of the security guard because he was bigger. Before the security guard let the suspect choke him out or kill him, the security guard gained access to his firearm and I heard two [shots].”
Police have not confirmed the witness details about the altercation.
Multiple law enforcement agencies are on scene, conducting an investigation into the shooting, including the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Protective Service, U.S. Marshal Service and Portland Police Burea.
Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact Det. Mike Schmerber at [email protected] or 503-823-0991 or Det. Erik Kammerer at [email protected] or 503-823-0762. Please reference Case No. 23-174369.
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