A wanted suspect and a Portland Police Bureau K-9 are dead following a shooting in Southeast Portland near the Chestnut Tree Inn, a hotel at the corner of Southeast 97th Avenue and Stark Street.
Eli Imadali / OPB
A wanted suspect is dead following a shooting in Southeast Portland, officials confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Gunfire erupted around 1:45 p.m. near the Chestnut Tree Inn, a hotel at the corner of Southeast 97th Avenue and Stark Street. More than 40 emergency units responded to the scene. Police cordoned off several blocks around the hotel.
The shooting occurred after a regional Violent Offenders Task Force located a wanted suspect in the area, Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Mike Benner told reporters.
Benner confirmed the suspect and a Portland Police Bureau K-9 both died during the incident.
Police officials confirmed that the man had a felony warrant, but would not provide further details about him or why he was wanted by the task force.
Benner also did not release additional details about what led to the shooting, citing an ongoing investigation. He said the shooting occurred during a pre-planned operation.
Two Portland police officers are on administrative leave, officials said, as well as two officers from other agencies in the task force.
The task force includes the U.S. Marshals Service, Gresham Police Department and the sheriff’s offices of Multnomah and Clackamas counties.
The K-9, named Kylo, had been transported to at least two separate veterinary clinics for emergency care, Benner said.
“Our members are reeling over that. They’re also reeling over the loss of a human life,” Benner said. “You hear Chief (Bob) Day talk about the sanctity of life all the time. But as far as our K-9? Heavy hearts.”
Thursday was set to be the K-9’s last shift, police officials said. He served six years with the bureau. Day fought back tears as he described how tragedy replaced what was meant to be a day “of celebration and retirement.”
“To watch them work is really a thing of beauty,” Day said “They’re part of our family. And they fill a role that is so critical for the safety of our officers but also the safety of our community. Really, just grateful for Kylo’s service.”
An employee at the Chestnut Tree Inn told OPB that police shot a person and that a K-9 was hit and injured by gunfire in the hotel’s parking lot. An OPB reporter at the scene said officers were interviewing people at the Chestnut Tree Inn.
Multiple bystanders separately recalled that, around 2 p.m., they saw several police cruisers arriving at the scene following a volley of gunfire.
Ryan Kowal, a bystander, lives with his wife at a hotel across the street.
“Honestly, it’s a shocker,” Kowal said. “It’s not something you expect to see during the daytime.”
According to Benner, the last Portland Police Bureau K-9 to die in the line of duty was a 3-year-old German shepherd named Mick who was responding to a burglary alongside his handler. The handler was also wounded during that encounter.
This story may be updated.
