PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police took an armed person into custody after a standoff that lasted over three hours at the Gateway Fred Meyer store Thursday afternoon.
The incident began shortly before 1 p.m. with a report of an armed robbery at a nearby Kohl's store. The suspect brandished a gun at loss prevention employees before leaving the store, police said.
The suspect ran into the Fred Meyer store, located at 1111 NE 102nd Ave, when officers arrived at the scene. Employees and customers were evacuated from the store and police set up a containment area. Both the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) were called to the scene.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Tommy Lee Brown Jr., was taken into custody shortly after 4 p.m. A loaded gun was recovered, according to police.
Brown was booked into the Mulntomah County Jail on charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree theft, felon in possession of a firearm, and a detainer. Brown is on supervised pre-trial release for a previous robbery and must wear a GPS tracking device, police said.
Several nearby businesses went into lockdown or closed early due to the standoff.