PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland man accused of taking a woman hostage and sexually assaulting her after robbing a bar early Wednesday morning has died at the hospital, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported Wednesday afternoon.
PPB identified the suspect as 53-year-old Michael A. Story of Portland. Police had reported earlier that following Wednesday's string of crimes, he was found by officers with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and taken to the hospital.
At 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to an armed robbery at Players Pub PDX on Northeast 82nd Avenue, between Klickitat Street and Fremont Street in Portland. Police told KGW on Wednesday morning that a man took a woman inside the bar hostage, making her take him to her vehicle.
"I think this was a guy who went in to go rob the bar, was desperate, needed a ride, saw a female that he thought he could control and did. I mean, he was armed. Took her hostage and took her car to get away," Derek Carmon with PPB said Wednesday morning.
Later Wednesday, PPB reported that Story sexually assaulted the woman.
The woman called dispatch to report the incident around 2:34 a.m. Police initially said she told dispatch that Story had dropped her off in Gresham and taken her vehicle, but in a later update, police said the woman took the opportunity to escape when Story stopped the vehicle and briefly got out on Southeast Stark Street in Gresham.
Gresham police officers and Multnomah County Sheriff's deputies responded to help search for the vehicle. A Multnomah County deputy spotted a vehicle that matched the description near Northeast Blue Lake Road and Northeast Marine Drive in Fairview. The deputy saw the vehicle travel back westbound on Marine Drive.
A Portland police K9 sergeant near Northeast 158th Avenue and Sandy Boulevard in Portland saw the vehicle and chased it. A Portland officer used spike strips to deflate the vehicle's tires at Sandy and Northeast 148th Avenue, and Story drove to Northeast 141st Avenue and Sandy, then got out of the vehicle and then ran away, police said.
The sergeant arrived to the area and Story "fired his weapon as he continued to run," police said. The sergeant took cover in his patrol vehicle and was not injured. He was able to report the direction the suspect was heading to other officers.
As officers were setting up a perimeter, "another set of shots could be heard," police said, though they didn't specify if Story fired those shots. Portland police called in SERT, the Crisis Negotiation Team, the Air Support Unit and drone pilots to help in the search for the suspect.
The Air Support Unit found a "heat source," possibly a person lying down in a parking lot where the suspect was last seen. SERT officers in an armored vehicle moved in closer and confirmed it was Story. Police said he appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Carmon said Story was taken into custody around 5:23 a.m. He was taken to the hospital, where he died, PPB said Wednesday afternoon.
Anyone with information is asked to email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, with attn: Major Crimes Unit and case No. 23-195557.
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