A wanted suspect was shot and killed during an incident with the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Offender Task Force and multiple other law enforcement agencies in SE Portland.
A wanted suspect was shot and killed during an incident with the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Offender Task Force and multiple other law enforcement agencies in SE Portland.
A Portland Police Bureau K-9 was also killed.
According to the Gresham Police Department, the suspect was wanted in a killing Thursday morning.
Gresham Police said officers were dispatched shortly after 7 a.m. to a home in the 17900 block of SE Market Street. Officers discovered the resident deceased and determined the resident died by homicide.
Gresham Police identified a suspect and investigators located him in the area of SE Pine St. and SE 99th Ave in Portland.
The U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force and multiple law enforcement agencies were called in to assist taking the suspect into custody.
The task force, working for the East County Major Crimes Team, encountered the suspect near SE 97th Ave. and SE Oak St. and shots were fired after Gresham Police said the suspect tried to run away during the arrest. Police say the suspect died at the scene.
A Portland Police Bureau K-9 named Kylo was also shot and transported to two animal hospitals. Despite attempts to save him, the police dog died. It is unclear if the dog was struck by the suspect or police gunfire. A gun was recovered at the scene, according to police.
PPB spokesperson Mike Benner said two Portland Police members and two law enforcement officers from other agencies were involved. The two PPB officers have been placed on routine paid administrative leave.
The Portland Police homicide unit is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The Gresham Police Department and East County Major Crimes Team are leading the investigation into the homicide.
The victim in the homicide is not being named at this time.
The shooting happened just outside of the Chestnut Tree Inn, where an employee who wished to remain anonymous told KATU he saw the moments K9 Kylo jumped into action and when the shots were fired.
"The dog was biting [the suspect] and he was on the floor and struggling with the dog, and [police] said, 'Don't move, don't move,' you know," the employee said. "That's all they said. Then they start shooting, maybe like six to eight shots."
"Maybe like three police officers shot him and the dog also got shot," he continued.
Mellissa Menasco and her husband were at home at the time of the shooting and recalled hearing consecutive rounds of gunshots before seeing officers run over to the scene.
"I was sitting on the couch making my jewelry, and all of a sudden we hear, pop, pop, pop," Menasco said.
"It was loud," she added. "You could hear it clearly throughout the apartment, and I could only imagine what everybody else heard around here."
Chief Day of the Portland Police Bureau addressed the media and highlighted what the loss means to both the department and the community.
"We always, always want to really prioritize the sanctity of life in our city, and it's a tragedy that we lost someone again today," Day said.
{p}Police K-9 Kylo was shot and killed during a shooting inSoutheast Portland on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, that left a suspect dead.(Portland Police Bureau){/p}Day added that the pain was compounded by the loss of Kylo, whose final day was supposed to be a celebration and his retirement.
"This impacts the Police Bureau family and the Portland family a little more personally today," Day said.
Day said Kylo had served the Portland Police Department for six years.
A Somber Moment: Portland police officers salute as the body of K-9 Kylo is escorted into the Animal Crimes Forensic Center at the Oregon Humane Society on Thursday evening, Sept. 24, 2026. Kylo was shot and killed in the line of duty while helping in a law enforcement operation to arrest a wanted man in Portland. (KATU)Hours later, in a somber ceremony, police officers escorted the body of the dog to the Oregon Humane Society. A line of police vehicles with their lights flashing arrived at around 6 p.m. Minutes later, officers lined the entrance to the humane society's Animal Crimes Forensic Center and saluted. Other officers placed Kylo's body on a cart and draped him with an American flag, and then slowly rolled him between the saluting officers and into the building.
Authorities have not identified the suspect.
Stark Street was shut down due to the investigation.
Previous Police Shootings
So far in 2026, the Portland Police Bureau has been involved in one other shooting, when an officer shot a man in a high-rise apartment on the northwest side of the city.
That man was wanted for entering a grocery store days earlier, claiming to be Secret Service and trying to shoot a security officer.
There was only one police shooting in 2025. There were six in 2024; four in 2023; and nine in 2022.
This story will be updated when more information is released.
