Shots fired as police chase a man from a gas station on busy Columbia Center Blvd.
Shots were fired during a police chase along Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick Monday morning.
Kennewick police and deputies from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office both arrived at the Circle K convenience store parking lot at Columbia Center Boulevard and West Deschutes Avenue about 10:30 a.m.
They reported finding a man slumped over the wheel of a car in the convenience store’s parking lot and also saw a gun on the man while he was inside the car, said Lt. Jason Erickson of the sheriff’s office.
They got the man out of the car, but he sprinted to the north across West Deschutes Avenue toward the Village at Grandridge apartment complex.
Law enforcement officers gave chase and shots were fired, although who fired shots was not immediately released to the public.
However, the Regional Special Investigation Unit that is called in to investigate all use of force incidents by police has taken over investigating what happened.
Erickson said the man who ran from the officers surrendered and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. No information was immediately available on whether he was wounded.
No law enforcement officers were injured and no information was available on whether any cars, apartments or buildings in the area were hit with bullets.
The SIU unit was called to investigate, with Pasco Police Capt. Jeff Harpster leading the investigation.
The southbound lanes of Columbia Center Boulevard were closed for a couple of hours.
Much of the Circle K parking lot and the apartment complex parking lot were roped off with crime scene tape during the investigation.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 12:46 PM.