A man suspected of stealing a vehicle from a Vancouver-area driveway this morning died after an officer-involved shooting a few blocks away.
The incident began at about 6:30 a.m. when the male suspect, whose name has not been released, reportedly got into an altercation with the owner of a vehicle at 5804 N.E. 41st Circle, in the Walnut Grove area, according to police.
The suspect got into the car, a 2014 Honda Accord, and rammed it into the garage before fleeing, according to emergency radio traffic monitored by The Columbian.
The person who called 911 to report the car theft reportedly fired a gun into the air, according to emergency radio traffic.
Norese Massenburg said he woke up to gunshots and investigated, and learned about what had happened.
“The gunshots were (my neighbor) firing warning shots at the guy to get out of his car,” he said.
Based on the information from that incident, the suspect was believed to be armed, Vancouver Police Department Spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.
The suspected car thief then crashed the Accord into a parked activities bus at Vancouver Pointe Senior Living, 4555 N.E. 66th Ave., and fled on foot, police said.
He ran into the senior facility’s lobby and then through the complex and into a neighboring apartment complex, to the Springfield Meadows Apartments at 4317 N.E. 66th Ave., Kapp said.
Police officers and deputies chased the man, where he entered a second-floor apartment occupied by a father and four children, Kapp said.
Officers forcefully entered the apartment and found the suspect in a back bedroom, Kapp said. A Vancouver police officer shot and killed the suspect, who was armed, Kapp said.
The family inside the apartment and responding officers were not injured, Kapp said. She did not know if there were any threats made to the family.
“We do not believe he knows the occupants of that apartment at all,” Kapp said.
The Vancouver police officer who fired the shot was placed on critical incident leave, which is the agency’s policy, Kapp said. Detectives with the Southwest Washington Regional Major Crimes Team are investigating.