Photo: KATU
Three people, a 42-year-old father and his two young daughters, are dead after an early morning domestic violence incident ended in tragedy on Gresham's border with the City of Portland. No names are being released at this time.
At approximately 12:30 a.m., Portland Police were investigating a family incident where a father had reportedly threatened to kill himself and his two young daughters, 8 and 11-years-old. The daughters were believed to be with their dad at an unknown location. Information gathered early on indicated the father had his children inside a vehicle and that he was considered armed, dangerous and suicidal.
Shortly before 1:45 a.m., Gresham officers responded to a business parking lot in the 16200 block of NE Glisan St. Officers located the suspect's SUV and were confronted by the father, who was armed with a handgun. The man started the vehicle on fire and at least one Gresham officer shot at the suspect. The man was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Gresham and Portland officers immediately tried to locate and rescue the two young girls, who were thought to likely be inside the vehicle. Having to break windows to get inside, the officers located and removed the children, only then realizing both girls were already dead. The exact cause of the childrens' deaths, and whether the suspect was killed by police or by suicide, will be determined in the coming days by the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office.
No officers were injured by gunfire but multiple officers suffered minor injuries during their attempts to rescue the children; including strains, burns and smoke inhalation. Per normal protocol, all Gresham officers directly involved in the incident have been placed on leave during the initial phases of the investigation.
This ongoing investigation is being led by the East County Major Crimes Team; a multi-agency unit comprised of detectives from Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police, Fairview Police, Port of Portland Police, and Gresham Police. Portland Police detectives are assisting and the overall investigation is being monitored by the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.