Man in courthouse crash shot at by police

Man in courthouse crash shot at by police
SALEM, Ore. - It was high drama in the morning when police chased down and shot a man who had torched several police cars in a nearby town and had shot one of the officers who had given chase.

The man then drove his pick up truck into the glass doors of the Marion County Courthouse before police shot at him. The man was identified as Christopher Lee Millis, 37. He hid into the courthouse building for nearly three hours before he was tracked onto a stairwell, police Capt. Jeff Kuhns said.

Millis was in surgery on Saturday afternoon, but the nature and extent of his injuries are not known at the moment. "We have a few indications of what might have motivated him," said Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau declining to comment further.

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Authorities said that the chase started at dawn when the man was found to be spraying some liquid onto cars that were parked at the police department in Keizer. He the set the said vehicles on fire prompting police to chase him. One officer was nearing him when he shot at her. Police said that she was not injured though her car crashed. Salem Police got calls after 6:30 am local time that someone had fired shots and had crashed through the courthouse building.

Officers from several police departments arrived and closeted the building from all directions. The bomb squad was also called out as a precautionary measure. Officers attempted to negotiate with Millis, but he gave them the slip until he was trapped on the staircase and shot. A quick search of the courthouse revealed that there were no explosives.