PENDLETON, Ore. – A domestic disturbance on NW 7th Street led to a nearly six-hour standoff with law enforcement. The suspect was later found in the basement of the residence by law enforcement with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head and was taken by ambulance to Pioneer Park on NW Despain Ave. where he was stabilized and loaded into an air-ambulance for treatment elsewhere.
According to a verbal statement by Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts, he received a call shortly after 10 a.m. regarding a domestic dispute between a husband and a wife in which the husband brandished a hunting rifle at the wife. The wife called 911 and reported that the last thing she saw as she left the house was the husband turning the rifle on himself.
A team made up of officers from Pendleton Police Department, Hermiston Police Department, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police secured a perimeter around the residence and evacuated citizens who lived in nearby residences. Law enforcement notified the suspect of their presence via loudspeaker and deployed a throw phone to establish communication. All attempts at communication were unsuccessful.
Roberts stated that he knows that the couple has a child or children but does not know if they were in the residence at the time of the dispute. Roberts stated that he believes alcohol was involved.
UPDATE 09/18/2017: According to Chief Roberts, the suspect’s name was Benjamin Otteson. Otteson was taken by Life Flight to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington where he died from his injuries.