A Vancouver police officer fired shots at a fleeing suspect who crashed into a vehicle and a building before he was apprehended by police.
Detectives remained at three crime scenes that spanned about eight blocks of Vancouver’s Uptown Village for hours on Saturday collecting evidence.
The incident began at about 11:15 a.m. Saturday when a Vancouver police officer was dispatched to Walgreens, 2521 Main St., to assist the Department of Corrections in apprehending a wanted suspect, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
When the officer contacted the male suspect, the suspect attempted to hit the officer with his vehicle, police said. The officer fired at the suspect, who then fled the scene in his vehicle, according to police.
The fleeing suspect vehicle then crashed into a car at 16th and Broadway and then crashed into Not Too Shabby, the business at the corner, police said.
The male suspect and female passenger fled on foot, Vancouver police Lt. Kathy McNicholas said.
The male suspect was taken into custody near East 15th Street and C Street, police said. He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation of injuries, which police said appear not to be life-threatening. A female passenger in the vehicle was evaluated for injuries and was detained, police said.
The occupants of the vehicle that was hit by the suspect vehicle were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, police reported.
The Vancouver police traffic unit is investigating the crash while the Regional Major Crimes Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
The officer involved in the shooting is on critical incident leave, which is standard procedure.
Witnesses
Fourteen-year-old Angelica Garcia was sitting with her 8-year-old sister Liliana Garcia inside their family’s vehicle parked in the Uptown Village Walgreens parking lot when she heard yelling from outside.
Angelica turned around and saw a police officer banging on the back of a dark sedan, parked directly behind her on the other side of the row. She took out her cellphone and started filming.
“He was saying, ‘Sir get out of the vehicle,’” she said of the officer.
She watched as the vehicle then backed up toward the officer, who was able to get out of the way, she said. The officer then fired his gun multiple times at the fleeing vehicle as it sped out of the parking lot onto Main Street, she said.
Angelica yelled at Liliana to get down and Liliana started crying.
“I was just so scared, I couldn’t believe that was happening,” Angelica said. “I didn’t know if the guy inside the car had a gun.”
Angelica called her other sister and mom, who were inside the store and tried to tell them what happened.
“She didn’t believe me at first,” she said. Angelica is known to get anxiety, but when her mom saw the footage, she said she knew it was real.
The family was shaken, but happy to be safe. Angelica provided her cellphone to police for their investigation into what happened.
Witnesses were also shaken at the second scene — where the suspect vehicle crashed into a car and a building.
When she heard the commotion, Edna Ness peeked her head out of her business, In Light Hyperbarics.
“I saw two people run behind the fence,” she said. “Then I heard the shots … there were at least four shots fired.”
One of her clients is a veteran and went into action, gathering everyone in the business and hiding them in the back. After a few minutes, they learned they were OK.
“It was scary,” she said.
Police have not yet released the name of the people involved in the incident, nor what charges the suspect might face when he’s out of the hospital.
