Update: Armed suspect in custody after standoff with Medford police
Oct. 27—Medford police have been involved in a standoff since early Thursday morning with an armed man who fled from police and crashed a vehicle reported to have been stolen.
At 7:20 a.m., police responded to a report of a possible stolen vehicle in the area of Crater Lake Avenue and Jackson Street. The suspect was reported to be armed with a handgun, according to an advisory issued by Medford police Thursday afternoon.
Patrol officers stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of Walgreen's on West Main Street. The suspect reportedly provided false information to the officers, and as a second officer arrived on scene, the suspect rammed a patrol car and fled in the vehicle.
The suspect crashed the vehicle at the intersection of North Ross Lane and Rossanley Drive and fled on foot into the industrial complex near Lars Way and Brian Way.
Multiple witnesses in the complex saw the suspect enter a warehouse building through the front door. MPD units established a perimeter around the building the suspect had entered, and police verified that no employees were in the building.
The suspect, who was not immediately identified by police, has multiple outstanding felony warrants, including a parole violation out of Ohio and a weapons offense in California, MPD said.
Due to that information and the report that the suspect was armed, MPD SWAT was deployed. In addition, the police drone team, K-9s, and the Crisis Negotiating Team responded to the scene.
Upon arrival, the SWAT Team entered the warehouse lobby and immediately came into contact with the suspect, at which time he fired one round and retreated deeper into the warehouse, police said. No injuries were sustained during this time.
The SWAT Team exited the warehouse, and while it was assessing the perimeter, the suspect opened a side door and fired more shots before retreating back into the warehouse.
Crisis negotiators made contact with the man in an attempt to resolve the incident.
"All measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the public, all officers on scene and the suspect," the advisory said.
As of Thursday afternoon the incident was ongoing. Police scheduled a press conference at 4:15 p.m. to brief the media.
In the meantime, the public was urged to stay away from the area of Ross Lane and Rossanley. Rossanley Road was closed at Sage Road.
Logos Public Charter School, which is near the police activity, said via social media it had instituted shelter-in-place measures as a precaution. The school's safety director was letting students in at the main door.
