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Gunfire erupts in Hood River; shooter found dead

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man accused of firing multiple rounds in downtown Hood River was found dead Saturday morning, according to the Hood River Police Department.

Officers responded to a disturbance call just after 3 a.m. on reports of a person yelling and throwing fireworks in the 100 block of E State Street. When they arrived, officers located a man running through the streets with a shotgun. Despite commands to surrender, the suspect continued to fire multiple rounds as he ran away.

Soon after, multiple agencies joined in the chase of the man who was then identified as 38-year-old Herbert Victor Blount of Tyrone, Georgia, according to HRPD. In the pursuit, a deputy from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office was struck by a shotgun pellet fired by Blount, but was not injured.  

Blount was located by a HRSO plane on the Indian Creek trail at just after 5:30 a.m. His body was found deceased from “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to police. 

No shots were fired by law enforcement during this incident, said HRPD.

This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call police.