Umatilla tribal police and multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a call about an attempted robber at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino near Pendleton Wednesday. The person suspected of the robbery was shot by police as they left the building.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
An attempted robbery on the Umatilla Indian Reservation led to a police shootout Wednesday afternoon, according to Wildhorse Resort & Casino and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
In a press release, Wildhorse staff said the suspect and a bystander were injured in a police shooting and were taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. The casino did not report anyone else being injured.
The incident began when the armed person attempted to rob the casino, which is about seven miles east of Pendleton in Eastern Oregon. Casino staff said they called the police and when the armed person left the building, he encountered the Umatilla Tribal Police Department.
The police and the suspect engaged in a “shootout,” according to a social media post from the CTUIR, leading to the two injuries. The tribal government did not immediately release information about the identity of the people injured, or the police officers involved in the shooting.
Tribal police, who were eventually joined by officers from the Pendleton Police Department, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, taped off one of the entrances to the casino after the shooting, but customers continued to flow in and out of the building through other entrances Wednesday afternoon. Wildhorse officials said the casino closed its food court while police investigate the incident.
“We are grateful no one else was physically injured with all that took place,” Wildhorse CEO Gary George said in a statement. “Security personnel and Tribal Police were quick to act and the situation was controlled in a swift manner.”
The CTUIR is the largest employer in the Pendleton area, thanks in large part to the success of Wildhorse. Encompassing a casino, hotel, golf course, movie theater and other amenities, Wildhorse employs people from across Eastern Oregon and southeast Washington.