Police: Woman found dead after standoff in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was found dead in an apartment in Portland after shots were fired in a standoff while police were on a welfare call.
KOIN reports the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct responded to a welfare check after they received a call around 3:30 p.m. Sunday from a woman saying she was being held hostage.
Several neighbors called, reporting they heard gunshots in the area.
Once police arrived to the apartment, they said a suspect shot at them through the door. At least 30 rounds were fired through the windows and doors. After a lengthy standoff, a man was arrested and a woman was found dead. A cause of death has not yet been determined.
Portland Police Bureau news release:
Update: PPB Officers Shot At While Attempting Welfare Check, Victim Found Deceased
Portland Police Bureau - 11/22/21 3:46 AM
On November 21, 2021, at 3:37 p.m., officers from the East Precinct responded to a welfare check call in the 2400 block of Southeast 171st Avenue. The call originated when a crying woman called dispatch to report that she was being held hostage.
Prior to officers arriving, neighbors called in and said they heard shots being fired in the area. Officers went to the residence, knocked on the door, and were then shot at through the door from the inside by an unknown suspect. Responding officers were able to get to safety and set up a perimeter around the location. Officers did not return fire and no officers were injured. Officers reported hearing additional shots being fired from within the residence.
The Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) responded to the location. Many attempts were made by CNT to contact anyone inside and those attempts were unsuccessful. Those attempts to communicate were by telephone and by loud hailing the suspect by use of the Long Range Acoustic Devise (LRAD).
Members of SERT began to break windows at the location to get a better view inside. Once the windows were broken, a suspect from inside the location began shooting in the direction of officers. A chemical agent was deployed into the residence and the suspect started shooting again. Officers did not return fire and continued to loud hail the suspect using the LRAD, asking them to surrender.
Eventually, officers were able to breach a barricaded door and enter the residence with a robot. Officers could see a male suspect inside, crawling around on his hands and knees. The suspect then barricaded himself in another room in the residence. At 1:12 a.m., members of SERT were able to make entry into that room and take the suspect into custody.
Officers located a female inside the residence who was deceased. The Oregon State Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death. The victim’s identity will be released at a later date.
The identity of the suspect has not yet been confirmed. The suspect was transported to an area hospital to be evaluated. The identity of the suspect and all charges will be provided at a later time.
Anyone with any information related to this incident is asked to please contact Detective Michael Greenlee at (503) 823-0871 Michael.Greenlee@portlandoregon.ogv or Detective Brad Clifton at (503) 823-0696 Brad.Clifton@portlandoregon.gov.
Additional information will be released at the direction of the investigators.
PPB is grateful for the assistance of the Gresham Police Department, East Metro SWAT, and the Vancouver Police Department during this incident.
