Police shoot man who crashed a truck into courthouse in U.S. state of Oregon

Police shot a man after he crashed a truck into a courthouse early Saturday, ending a pursuit that began when the suspect set fire to several squad cars and shot at an officer who chased him.

The man was inside the courthouse for several hours and had set at least one fire in the building before police tracked him down in a stairwell, authorities said. A bomb squad was brought in to search the building after he was subdued.

"We've got some things in there that are suspicious. This guy was in there for three hours," said police spokesman Lt. Bill Kohlmeyer.

The unidentified suspect was taken to a hospital, police Capt. Jeff Kuhns said. His condition was not immediately known, but officials said he had been taken into surgery.

The pursuit started shortly before dawn when the man poured a liquid on cars parked at the police department in the adjacent town of Keizer and set them on fire, authorities said.

An officer spotted the man and chased him in her car, but the suspect fired at her, police said. The officer crashed but wasn't injured.

Investigators also believe the gunman fired at homes before driving up the concrete steps of the Marion County Courthouse and crashing through the building's glass double doors.

Officers surrounded the building and attempted to negotiate with the man for several hours until they confronted him in the stairwell and shot him.

The gunman had set at least one fire inside the courthouse and fired a weapon, Kuhns said. He said it was unclear whether the man was firing at officers outside, reported AP.

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