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Suspect in shooting of two Washington County deputies identified

Dante James Halling is still in the hospital. He was shot during an exchange of gunfire with deputies.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man accused of shooting and wounding two sheriff’s deputies near Henry Hagg Lake on Aug. 8.

Dante James Halling, 56, is still in the hospital. He was shot after firing at the sheriff’s deputies. The sheriff’s office did not release an update on his condition.

Halling is being held on two unrelated felony warrants for parole violation and probation violation related to an attempted assault conviction. He has not yet been charged in connection to the shooting in Washington County.

The incident began when the sheriff's office received a call about a theft in progress from a home in Gaston, north of the lake. The homeowner reported a man outside the house stealing long gun rifles out of a locked cabinet on their property.

Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Office
Dante James Halling, seen in a September 2018 booking photo.

Deputies helped the homeowners get out of the house and then began searching for the suspect. Eventually, the suspect and deputies exchanged gunfire and the deputies were shot.

Corporal Jeremy Braun and deputy Chris Iverson were both wounded during the shooting. Iverson was treated and released but Braun remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.

Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Office
Dante Halling, seen near Hagg Lake on Aug. 8, 2019, the day of the shooting.

The sheriff’s office released a photo of Halling taken the day of the shooting near Hagg Lake. Investigators are asking anyone who saw Halling, spoke with him or has any information about what he was doing in the weeks prior to the Aug. 8 shooting to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 503-846-2500.

Court records indicate Halling has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s, including convictions for bank robbery, drug charges and felon in possession of a firearm.

In April 2015, court records say Halling attacked Portland police officers with a fire extinguisher and 20-inch long steel wrench while being taken into custody on burglary charges after breaking into an industrial dock house on the Willamette River.

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