The Associated Press
LA GRANDE, Ore. (AP) - An eastern Oregon man barricaded himself inside his fortified house in an 18-hour standoff with police, who fired 70 canisters of tear gas and eventually called for an armored personnel carrier to knock apart the building.
Police found the body of Russell Ross, 39, of Cove, inside. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Union County Sheriff Steve Oliver told The Oregonian.
Oliver said the episode began at 7:45 a.m. Sunday, when Ross went to the home of his ex-wife and their 14-year-old son. He confronted and killed her boyfriend, Abe Gordon, 51, also of Cove. Gordon, who operated a welding shop in La Grande and was a former municipal maintenance worker in Cove, was shot multiple times with a .44-caliber Magnum handgun. Ross also may have fired at his ex-wife before fleeing five blocks to his home.
A standoff involving about 50 officers ensued. At 1:45 a.m. Monday, an Oregon State Police Special Weapons and Tactics team rushed the home and found Ross dead. An autopsy has been ordered.
Ross had at least five rifles in the home and may have hidden in a crawl space to escape the tear gas, Oliver said. It was unclear whether he fired at officers.
Authorities suspect Ross may have planned for the standoff, noting he worked much of Saturday night nailing up plywood barricades inside the home.
“The neighbors heard him all night hammering over there,” Oliver said.
During the standoff, Ross refused to speak to police negotiators but talked to a friend by phone.
“He kept telling him he wasn’t coming out,” Oliver said. “A lot of times, (people in standoffs) want to talk and air their problems . . . He just didn’t.”
Ross worked for a bridge construction company and recently had been counseled by a minister for apparent emotional problems, Oliver said.