PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Video obtained by KOIN 6 News shows the dramatic moments when Michael Veatch began a shooting spree as investigators said he was “actively trying to kill innocent civilians” along Hwy 30 on October 9.
The incident played out over 18 minutes in the early morning hours of October 9, beginning with a shooting at a Chevron station at 5:26 a.m.
Veatch pointed a handgun at the chest of a convenience store employee then, moments later, fired 6-8 shots that shattered glass. Veatch got into his truck and drove off on a blown tire.
As Veatch drove away, witnesses reported shots fired near McBride Elementary School. Another witness said Veatch stopped his truck in the middle of the road, got out of his truck and fired 7-10 rounds from an AK-47. Investigators confirmed these details, the DA said.
As police chased Veatch, they saw him “handling a box of ammunition as if reloading his firearm.” Near Deer Island, Veatch’s truck was spewing smoke. He got out and ran along the highway.
Veatch then tried to carjack 2 vehicles. When he approached the first one, a white work van, the driver sped off. But Veatch fired twice, hitting the dashboard and front passenger seat. Veatch then tried to take a second vehicle, but again the driver sped off. Veatch again fired a shot, hitting the center console before coming to rest on the driver’s floorboard.
The report states: “At 5:43:51, (Officer) Merkwan reported that the subject was continuing to shoot at vehicles…(and) believed the subject was ‘going down the line of stopped traffic and he was shooting people.’ 9 seconds later, Merkwan responded over the radio that he intentionally struck the subject with his vehicle and that an ambulance was ‘needed ASAP.’”
Veatch died after being hit by the officer’s patrol car. The investigation ruled the officer-involved death was “overwhelmingly justified,” Columbia County District Attorney Jeffrey David Auxier said in early December.
