The Associated Press
CRATER LAKE, Ore.- A camper brandished a club and threatened to kill two park rangers, then was shot dead by one of them, a park spokesman said Thursday.
The man encountered the rangers as they answered a call about a domestic disturbance at a campground at Crater Lake National Park after dark Wednesday, said park spokesman Mac Brock.
When the rangers tried to talk to the man, he became increasingly hostile and wandered around the campsite despite orders to stay still, Brock said.
“Still brandishing the club, still ignoring warnings to stop, he directly approached the rangers and threatened to kill them,” Brock said.
When the man came within 10 feet of one of the rangers, the ranger used pepper spray, but the man didn’t stop, and the second ranger shot him twice, Brock said.
The man, whose name was withheld pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead on the scene.
The rangers remained on duty, but were not in the field. Their names were not released.
Brock said the shooting was the first he had heard of in 12 years at the park.