PORTLAND, Ore. — Officers shot at a man during an altercation after they responded to a report of him trying to set a car on fire in Southeast Portland, according to Portland police.
The man is under arrest and being treated for a gunshot wound.
A large number of Portland fire and police units were dispatched to the scene near Harrison Park and Portland Community College Monday morning. The college and Harrison Park School both went into lockdown.
The lockdowns were lifted around 11 a.m., and police later confirmed the incident did not involve and students or school property.
At a press conference, Portland police’s public information officer Nathan Sheppard stated that police were dispatched just before 9 a.m., and the suspect was not cooperative when they confronted him.
There was an altercation and police fired shots, Sheppard said, although he said he could not confirm how many officers fired, how many shots were fired or whether the suspect was armed.
The man initially fled the scene, prompting the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Reaction Team to be activated, and police later convinced the man to surrender. He was taken into custody and is in the hospital, Sheppard said.
The vehicle fire could not be extinguished, and it eventually consumed the vehicle and then burned itself out, he said.
A large area on the east side of Southeast 82nd Avenue near Harrison Street was roped off with caution tape Monday morning, and smoke could be seen coming from somewhere within the perimeter. One person was seen being loaded into an ambulance at around 10:30 a.m.
Loudspeakers at Portland Community College’s Southeast campus broadcast a message warning about an active threat, and the college’s Twitter account posted a message stating that the campus was on lockdown, and a spokeperson for Portland Public Schools confirmed Harrison Park School was also on lockout.
At least one nearby resident reported receiving an emergency shelter-in-place alert from Multnomah County, urging nearby residents to stay indoors until further notice, and said they could also hear a message being broadcast on a loudspeaker.
PCC posted another message at about 11 a.m. stating that the lockdown had been lifted, and Multnomah County reportedly sent a follow up message at about 11 a.m. stating that the police activity had ended.
The college later sent out a message to students and faculty stating that the Southeast campus would remain closed (but not locked down) for the rest of the day due to the disruption, with on-campus classes and activities canceled.
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