PORTLAND, Ore. — A man is in custody after barricading himself inside a home in Northwest Portland for hours while police crisis negotiators attempted to lure him out, the Portland Police Bureau reported.
Portland police identified the man as Jerome Strickland, 41. He's been charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree attempted assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
"we used some special explosive devices to take off the front door," explained Mike Benner, public information manager for PPB, "Then we filled the apartment with CS gas and that flushed the individual out."
The incident started around 9 a.m. Friday when the suspect, armed with a knife, tried to enter a home in the area of Northwest 28th Place and Upshur Street. Police said he tried to stab people inside after which someone inside fired a shot at him. The man ran from the home and barricaded himself inside a different home about two blocks away in the area of Upshur and 26th.
It's not clear at this time if anyone was injured.
Audra Prothro told KGW she flagged down emergency workers - stopping an ambulance in the street for help - after she said she saw the suspect go inside her neighbor's apartment with what she said was a two-foot-long blade.
"I knew the situation. I just felt in my soul that that guy had no good intentions," she said. "And I knew that if I called 911, I was going to be on hold for who knows how long."
Officers said they believe that the suspect knew the people inside the first home he entered and that he's also familiar with the home he barricaded himself in.
Portland police's Special Emergency Reaction Team and Crisis Negotiation Team used distraction devices and gas to persuade the suspect to leave the home.
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