Man Wanted for Trying to Shoot Security Officer is Deceased Following Officer Involved Shooting

Portland Police Bureau 

On Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 1:04 p.m., Portland Police Officers assigned to Central Precinct were dispatched to a grocery store in the 1300 block of Northwest Lovejoy Street on a report of a threat with a weapon. They learned that a suspect had come into the store, approached two uniformed security officers, falsely identified himself as an agent from the United States Secret Service, pointed a handgun at one of security officers, and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire. The security officers scuffled with the suspect before he fled the scene with the handgun in his possession. 

The suspect left behind an instrument case that contained a loaded shotgun. Officers seized the shotgun as evidence. They found threatening messages written on the shotgun shells that specifically named President Donald Trump.

Officers conducted an extensive search of the area attempting to locate the suspect, but he was not found. At the time, officers did not know his identity. 

The Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST) began investigating and coordinated with the United States Secret Service, who provided investigative assistance. Investigators determined the suspect's identity and that he lived in an apartment in the 1600 Block of Northwest 14th Avenue. They worked with the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office to obtain an arrest warrant for the suspect for charges that include Attempted Assault in the First Degree. The circumstances of this case led to an increased concern about the safety of the public and the officers, so the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) coordinated the service of the warrant. 

On Thursday, February 5, 2026 at about 5:15 a.m., officers began serving the warrant. They announced that they were Portland Police, ordered the suspect to come out with his hands empty, and they gave him warnings that force may be used against him if he did not comply. The suspect did not respond. Members of the CNT attempted to make contact to negotiate his surrender but were unable to communicate with him. 

Under the circumstances, the officers evacuated the entire floor to get residents to a safe location before they proceeded. The suspect still did not respond to continued efforts to communicate. About 35 minutes later, officers deployed irritant gas munitions, including OC Vapor and CS gas, into the apartment. They were effective and the suspect emerged into the hallway holding a handgun. 

Shots were fired by two PPB SERT officers. One of the PPB SERT officers reported that the suspect had pointed a gun at him. Officers could see the suspect next to the gun, so they tried to get him to move away from it. He did not move away, so officers summoned paramedics (who were staged for this incident), gathered resources, and moved in to take him into custody and render medical aid. The paramedics determined the suspect was deceased. A photo of the suspect's gun is attached. 

The suspect's identity will be released after he has been formally identified by the medical examiner and appropriate notifications have been made. No officers or other community members were injured in this incident. The officers who used deadly force will be placed on paid administrative leave. This is standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting.

Portland Police Bureau Detective Division, led by the Homicide Unit, but including ECST, Major Crimes Unit, responded to the scene to investigate the case. If anyone has information about this incident, and has not already spoken to police, please contact homicidetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 26-35341. 

Chief Bob Day and Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez responded to the scene. Chief Day briefed Mayor Keith Wilson and Deputy City Administrator for Public Safety Bob Cozzie on the incident. 

As part of the use of force review process, the Bureau will conduct an internal review of the entire incident, including the initial response, resources requested, tactics used, and post shooting actions. The case will go before the Police Review Board (PRB), which is composed of community members, Bureau members, and representatives from the Independent Police Review Division.

The Portland Police Bureau directive outlining the procedures followed after an officer involved shooting may be found at 1010.10 Deadly Force and In-Custody Death Reporting and Investigation Procedures.

The Portland Police Bureau is committed to transparency. The Bureau has an interactive dashboard on its website, which allows users to filter the information based on a variety of data. That includes cases by year with subject injury type, initial call type, subject weapon, demographics, and aggregate statistics.

Once the entire investigation and legal process is complete, the investigative files and any grand jury transcripts regarding this case will be posted on the Bureau's Open Data page. Information available about past officer-involved shootings can be found here OIS Summaries.