UPDATE (Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, at 9:17 a.m. PT) — Officials reopened a portion of Interstate 84 westbound between interstates 5 and 205 Wednesday morning after a police chase connected to a southwest Washington homicide investigation closed a portion the highway Tuesday night.
TRAFFIC #ALERT: PPB re-opening I-84 and I 205. #pdxalert
— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) February 6, 2019
Police were pursuing a vehicle carrying a suspect in the January killing of a Kelso, Washington, convenience store clerk.
Vancouver Police and at least one person in the pickup truck exchanged gunfire in the chase, according to Portland Police Sgt. Tina Jones. One person in the truck sustained life-threatening injuries that were not connected to gunfire and was at a local hospital.
A Vancouver officer sustained injuries that were not life-threatening and were not gunshots.
The Portland Police Bureau is leading an investigation into the shooting.
A wrecked truck sits against the wall on Interstate 84 in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. A police chase led to a closure of the highway in both directions.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra / OPB
The chase that started in Vancouver around 7:30 p.m. ended with gunfire around 8 p.m. in Portland. Police say they attempted to pull over a vehicle carrying Erkinson K. Bossy, 23, a suspect in the January killing of Kelso convenience store clerk Kayla Chapman. Bossy was arrested at the chase's conclusion.
Chapman was killed last month while working at Holt’s Quik Chek. Police say she was shot and killed around 4:12 a.m. on Jan. 22. Chapman was the only employee working in the store at the time.
“An officer spotted the other suspect [Bossy] in Vancouver and attempted a traffic stop. That suspect fled in the vehicle that was eventually stopped in Portland, so the pursuit ensued through Vancouver and into Oregon,” said Kim Kapp, Vancouver Police Department’s public information coordinator.
Police had already arrested one suspect in the killing — D'Anthony Williams — but they were looking for two other people as well.
Earlier Tuesday, police arrested Nenemeny W. Ekiek, 21, in Kelso.
Vancouver PD had been working with the Kelso Police Department’s investigative unit to insist with the ongoing homicide investigation, Kapp said.
Police officers search a crime scene on Interstate 84 in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. Major police activity closed a portion of the highway in both directions.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra / OPB
More than 20 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene Tuesday night. Behind police tape, the only non-law enforcement vehicle was a pickup truck up against the wall on the side of the highway. The truck's alarm blared as police assessed the scene. At least two of its tires were flat.
The Oregon Department of Transportation closed I-84 westbound at Interstate 205 and eastbound from Interstate 5 to Cesar Chavez Boulevard just after 8 p.m. ODOT warned motorists Tuesday night to "expect a lengthy closure."
The highway chase also snarled TriMet trains running in Northeast Portland as police activity ensued. The agency reported delays of up to 40 minutes.
