Sheriff's deputy shot in Tualatin while serving eviction notice

TUALATIN, Ore. (KGW) — A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy was shot Wednesday morning while serving an eviction notice in Tualatin, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The deputy was taken to a hospital and is in critical condition, WCSO added in a tweet.

WCSO said the suspect is still outstanding and urged the public to avoid the area, and later confirmed that the suspect was barricaded in an apartment, describing the area as an “active scene” with the Washington County Tactical Negotiation Team on-site.

The incident began at about 9:34 a.m. at the Forest Rim Apartments, WSCO said, near the intersection of Southwest Nyberg Street and Southwest Nyberg Lane. The apartment complex is located next to the Nyberg Woods Shopping Center and across the street from the Nyberg Retail Center on the east side of Interstate 5.

Deputies told dispatch at 10:21 a.m. that they were attempting to detain a person when the person opened fire at the deputies, hitting one of them. It is unknown if the deputies returned fire, WCSO said.

A witness at the scene told KGW that she had been out running errands when she saw two police cars pull up, followed by two or three ambulances and then a swarm of police and fire department vehicles. Helicopters and SWAT teams then arrived, she said, adding that she had “never seen an accumulation of law enforcement that big.”

“We’re all kind of in a state of disbelief,” she said.

The Tualatin Police Department said on Facebook and Twitter that Southwest Nyberg Street was closed from Southwest 65th Avenue to I-5 due to police activity, and echoed calls for the public to avoid the area, describing “heavy police activity” near Southwest Nyberg Lane and the Nyberg Woods Shopping Center.

The injured deputy appears to have been taken to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in North Portland, one of two hospitals in the Portland area with a Level 1 Trauma Center. A Life Flight helicopter could be seen parked outside the hospital late Wednesday morning, and a large number of WCSO vehicles could be seen coming and going from the hospital. Metro West Ambulance confirmed that it had taken a patient from the Tualatin incident to a trauma center via Life Flight.