An Oregon State Police trooper shot and killed a 31-year-old man who was allegedly holding a semi truck driver at gunpoint along Interstate 5 in Salem on Monday morning, the agency said in a news release.
State police trooper Andrew Tuttle stopped to help the disabled semi near milepost 254 just before 9 a.m. and discovered a man later identified as Felipe Amezcua Manzo holding the truck driver at gunpoint, the agency said.
Manzo allegedly shot at the trooper and Tuttle fired back before Manzo ran into the tall grass along the interstate, the news release said. Police and paramedics found Manzo in the shrubbery and attempted to treat his wounds, but he died at the scene. The police found a gun next to him, they said.
Tuttle, a Navy veteran and employee of the state police since 2016, also sustained unspecified, non-life threatening injuries, the news release said. The agency placed Tuttle on leave as the Salem Police Department investigates the shooting.
Police closed three miles of northbound traffic on Interstate 5 for several hours on Monday morning. One lane of traffic reopened around 11:30 a.m., and the roadway was completely cleared by 6 p.m.
Savannah Eadens contributed to this story.