Officer Involved Shooting in Ontario

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say a stolen-car chase that began in Idaho ended in Ontario, Oregon, with the suspect dead of a gunshot wound.

Malheur County District Attorney David Goldthorpe said in a news release that the man, identified as 25-year-old Ontario resident Victor J. Morales Zavala, continued driving during the Thursday afternoon chase even after police used spike strips. City police and state troopers from Oregon and Idaho pursued him as he drove through Ontario on four flat tires.

Goldthorpe says the driver eventually pulled over near a railroad underpass, got out of the vehicle and held a gun to his head. Moments later shots were fired and, despite life-saving efforts, Morales was pronounced dead at a hospital 20 minutes after the shooting.

The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation because Oregon state troopers were involved in the shooting.