Law enforcement officers were on the scene of a more than eight-hour standoff with an armed suspect Thursday
MEDFORD, Ore. — The Medford Police Department says a suspect is in custody.
Police negotiated with a gunman this afternoon at a warehouse near Brian Way and Lars Way about a mile west of Rogue Valley Mall, north of Rossanley Drive and North Ross Lane, where both streets were closed by the police.
The Medford Police (MPD) had described the confrontation as an “Armed Barricade Incident.”
He says at 7:20 a.m. today, his officers responded to a report of a possible stolen vehicle in the area of Crater Lake Avenue and Jackson Street with a suspect who was armed with a handgun. MPD says when officers spotted the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop in the parking lot of Walgreen’s on West Main Street, the suspect provided false information to officers and when a second officer arrived, the suspect wrapped a patrol car and fled in the vehicle.
MPD says the suspect crashed the car at North Ross Lane and Rossanley Drive and entered an industrial complex on foot two blocks north near Lars Way and Brian Way.
MPD says witnesses saw the suspect enter a warehouse building through the front door which MPD quickly contained with a perimeter around the building, verifying that there were no employees in the building.
MPD says the suspect has outstanding felony warrants that include an Ohio parole violation and a California weapons offense and, “Due to this information and the report that he was armed, MPD SWAT was deployed . Additionally, the drone team, K-9, and crisis negotiation team responded to the scene.”
MPD says the SWAT team entered the warehouse and encountered the suspect who fired a shot and went further into the warehouse, with no injuries at the time. He says the SWAT team left the warehouse and as SWAT assessed the perimeter, “the suspect opened a side door and fired more shots before retreating back into the warehouse.”
It says crisis negotiators made contact with the armed suspect to safely resolve the incident and “every measure has been taken to ensure the safety of the public, all officers on scene and the suspect.”
MPD was assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and the Central Point Police Department.
NewsWatch 12 has a reporter on the showdown with live reports on NewsWatch 12 at 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
MPD says, “We would like to thank the public for their cooperation and patience during this developing incident.”