VANCOUVER, Wash. — One man is dead after a confrontation with police ended in a shooting at a Safeway parking lot in Vancouver Tuesday evening.
At around 5:30 p.m., a detective with the Vancouver Police Department spotted a person driving on East Mill Plain Boulevard. Police recognized the man as a suspect wanted for multiple armed robberies, according to a statement from police.
Detectives reported seeing the man park and enter the Safeway at East Mill Plain Boulevard and North Andresen Road. Minutes later, as the man left the Safeway and spotted officers, police said he dropped a bag of items, displayed a gun and ran west through the parking lot.
According to Vancouver police, the man fired at responding officers and three Vancouver police detectives and one Clark County Sheriff's deputy returned fire. The man was shot. Medical aid was provided, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police later identified him as Joshua James Wilson, age 43.
No officers were injured, police said.
A witness, who shared video of the incident with KGW, reported seeing the man pull out a gun and start running as soon as he walked out of the Safeway. In the video, you can hear at least 12 gunshots fired.
Investigators roped off a large portion of the parking lot for hours, combing over the crime scene.
The three Vancouver police officers and a Clark County deputy who were involved in the incident were placed on leave, which is standard protocol.
The four who fired were Detective Colton Price, Detective Aaron Yoder and Officer Brandon Riedel from the Vancouver Police Department, plus Detective Zach Nielsen from the sheriff's office. The Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team released their names on June 8.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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