TOLLGATE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police say a 52-year-old man was critically wounded when a Umatilla County sheriff’s deputy and a state trooper say he aimed a rifle at them and they fired when he refused to drop it.
Lt. Gregg Hastings says the uninjured deputy and trooper have been put on paid leave while the Tuesday night shooting is investigated.
On Wednesday, the injured man was reported in critical but stable condition at a Portland hospital. He is reportedly wanted on a federal parole violation warrant involving a weapons offense.
No names have been released.
Hastings says the officers responded to a report of a crash on Oregon Highway 204 near Tollgate in rural Umatilla County. They found an abandoned vehicle and footprints in the snow leading away from it. They also learned the driver was wanted.
Police say the officers spotted the man crouched near a snowbank with a rifle aimed at them.
