PHOTO BY OSP
The bank robbery suspect who shot himself near Ontario last Thursday has been identified as a 71-year-old man who is not an Oregon resident.
Law enforcement officials are still trying to find next of kin before releasing the man’s name.
The shooting last Thursday happened after the suspect was pursued by law enforcement officers following a reported robbery of the Bank of the West in Ontario. OSP Troopers were notified by the Ontario Police Department (OPD) to be on the lookout for a pickup that fled the scene of the robbery around 12:30 p.m. The pickup was driven by a male armed with a handgun. The suspect fled south as OSP, OPD, and Malheur County Sheriff’s deputies headed along area roads to locate him.
At approximately 12:35 p.m., an Ontario police officer saw a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle’s description traveling south on Alameda Drive and attempted to stop the suspect. The driver was slow to yield before stopping on the shoulder near Onion Avenue. While staying back at the patrol car while waiting for cover officers to arrive, the driver shot himself.
OSP and other OPD officers arrived and approached the pickup where they found the male unconscious, slumped over with a gunshot wound to his head and a handgun next to him. The man initially wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. Officers performed emergency medical care and the man started breathing. He was transported to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Ontario before being taken to a hospital in Boise, Idaho where he was pronounced dead.
Alameda Drive was closed at Railroad Avenue and Onion Avenue for 2.5 hours while detectives from the Major Crime Team investigated. The Malheur Major Crime Team includes members from OSP, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, and Ontario Police Department.
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