PORTLAND, Ore. — An attempt to check on a stolen car led Portland police officers to pursue an armed suspect to Hayden Island Wednesday morning.
According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officers from the Neighborhood Response Team found a car that had been reported stolen. Inside was a man who was initially "unresponsive," the agency said.
The driver then tried to get away, but officers were able to spike the vehicle's tires. It wound up on Hayden Island, where officers caught up with the driver as he tried to get away on foot.
PPB identified the suspect as 39-year-old Gregory Walker. He was found with a handgun and more than 200 rounds of ammunition, the agency said. Walker was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude, felon in possession of a firearm and other charges.
According to PPB's North Precinct, this was the second occasion in a 24-hour period where an armed suspect in a stolen vehicle fled from officers on the north side of Portland.
"These situations are dangerous," the agency said. "We remind the public if they see their own stolen vehicle to call dispatch and not attempt to contact a suspect independently."
In a similar incident on Wednesday, officers from PPB's East Precinct went to recover a stolen vehicle, a white Ford van, in the 11300 block of Southeast Foster Road. The vehicle was occupied by several people when they arrived.
A man got out of the van and tried to run away, PPB said — and when officers caught ahold of him, he "resisted and fired a shot" from a handgun.
No one was injured by the shot, and officers successfully took the man into custody, taking the handgun as evidence.
In this case, Portland Police Homicide Unit detectives also responded to investigate. During the investigation, Southeast Foster Road was closed between Southeast 111th Avenue and Southeast 122nd Avenue.
Anyone with information about the Southeast Foster case is asked to contact Detective Ryan Foote at Ryan.Foote@portlandoregon.gov and 503-823-0781, or Detective Calvin Goldring at Calvin.Goldring@portlandoregon.gov and 503-823-0256; reference case number 22-98124.
