Man killed at Portland Fred Meyer was trying to stop robbery, police say
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland police have identified the man whose “suspicious death” at the Gateway Fred Meyer on Monday is now considered a homicide, according to investigators.
When officers responded to a robbery with shots fired at the grocery store on Northeast 102nd Avenue, they found 47-year-old Jonathan Trent injured in the parking lot around 4 p.m. He was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
On Thursday, a medical examiner determined Trent had died of homicide by gunshot wound.
“The initial investigation suggests that Trent was shot after witnessing a robbery and attempting to stop the suspect,” according to police.
The suspect in this case is still at large.
Portland police said when they initially reached the scene, they couldn't see any sign of trauma, and didn't even realize Trent had been shot.
One woman told KOIN 6 that she saw Trent on the ground as she and her husband left the store and she immediately knew something was wrong.
"Somebody had cut his shirt off, and when they went to roll him over, and I said to my husband, 'I think that person's gone.' Because normally, when somebody's really hurt, they're moaning, groaning. There's some kind of indication of pain, and there wasn't. There was just stillness," she said.
Anyone with information about the suspect is encouraged to contact Portland police.