PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man was shot and killed by two police officers Thursday morning at Grumpy’s Towing in Scappoose when police were called to the scene after what a witness told KOIN 6 News was an argument that escalated between the man and employees of the towing facility.
In a Tweet shared Thursday morning, CCSO confirmed a shooting happened at Grumpy’s Towing in the morning and an officer was involved.
Later in the day, Detective Shannon Wilde with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which has taken over the investigation, told reporters that after Columbia County deputies responded to a “disturbance” at the towing company just before 10 a.m., a CCSO deputy and an Oregon State Police trooper fired their weapons, killing a man.
Wilde did not identify the man or specify whether he was armed at the time but said he was wanted for an unrelated “violent felony.” The name of the law enforcement authorities involved have also not been released.
Wilde also declined to comment on the circumstances that led up to the shooting.
Authorities offered little further detail. No officers were reported injured, and the Washington County Major Crimes Team is investigating.
Witness account of the shooting
A witness told KOIN 6 News he was dropping his wife off at work next door when he saw a man show up to the towing facility who appeared to be angry. The witness, Erik Tyler, said a fight escalated between the man and employees until the workers told him they would call the police.
Police arrived and Tyler said he heard them yell at the man to drop his weapon and the man didn’t comply.
Tyler told KOIN 6 News that while he did not see the shooting, he heard the shooting unfold from behind the building, and he believes the person who was shot fired at officers first.
“It was over just as fast as it started,” Tyler said.
KOIN 6 News has confirmed Oregon State Police Troopers are assisting Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies at the scene in Scappoose.
Highway 30 is open, but traffic has slowed while passing a line of emergency vehicles.
This is a developing story.