Police: Shot boy was suicidal

from The Oregonian, by Holly Danks and David R. Anderson

Washington County sheriff's investigators say a 14-year-old boy who was shot by a deputy had taken his father's high-velocity semiautomatic rifle out of an unlocked gun safe, loaded it with steel-cased, full metal jacket bullets and sped off in the family car late Monday after everyone else was in bed.

Authorities continued Tuesday to look into details surrounding the shooting of Brandon Scruggs, an eighth-grader at Conestoga Middle School in Beaverton. They said Scruggs was suicidal Monday night when he jumped from the car so quickly, holding the loaded rifle, that the deputy had little time to react.

Scruggs was in stable condition Tuesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, said Sgt. Michael O'Connell, a sheriff's detective who leads the county's Major Crimes Team.

He declined to say where Scruggs was hit or how many times, citing the investigation's preliminary status. Because of federal regulations, hospital representatives would not comment.

O'Connell said Scruggs told medical personnel he pointed his rifle at the deputy because "I wanted him to shoot me, I wanted to die."

O'Connell said Scruggs' parents --Glenn and Valerie Scruggs --"have no idea why he would do this, they're perplexed." He said they did not know Scruggs was missing Monday night or had taken their stick-shift Volkswagen.

Scruggs' parents could not be reached for comment Tuesday by The Oregonian.

Sheriff's Sgt. David Thompson said a deputy pulled over a car without taillights that was speeding west along Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday near Southeast 75th Avenue, in an unincorporated area near Hillsboro's southeast corner.

The deputy, whose name was not released, called for backup and told the driver to stay in the car, which had pulled about 30 feet onto 75th Avenue.

Instead, O'Connell said, the driver "came bolting out of that car with a rifle in his hands holding it in a threatening manner."

The deputy backed a few feet behind his patrol car and fired because he thought his life was in danger, O'Connell said.

"It all happened very quickly," he said.

The deputy, who was placed on paid administrative leave as is routine in officer-involved shootings, was to be interviewed today. Both the deputy and Scruggs were alone in their vehicles, investigators said.

Scruggs did not fire his rifle, but O'Connell said it was loaded with ammunition that would "easily pierce a police vest."

Thompson added that such a round fired from a high-velocity SKS "would go through a car."

O'Connell said Scruggs and his father had gone target shooting with the weapon in the past week.

"He knew it was more than just a pop gun," O'Connell said.

Scruggs is expected to face charges when he is released from the hospital.

Monday night's incident was the third in the past five months in which Washington County sheriff's deputies shot someone.

Lukus Glenn, 18, died Sept. 16 after two deputies shot him eight times when he threatened them, himself and his family with a knife outside his Tigard home. Jordan Case, 20, died Oct. 21 after a sheriff's deputy shot him when he broke into a neighbor's Tualatin apartment, then ran to a patrol car and tried to grab a gun.

Shocked neighbors on Southwest Bristlecone Way south of Beaverton and west of Tigard, said Scruggs was quiet, didn't cause trouble and seemed happy.

They said Scruggs often went hunting and fishing with his father. The boy had a hunting license; anyone younger than 18 has to take a safety class and carry a state Hunter Education certificate when hunting off family private property.

"He was always very nice, always very polite," said Lori Brush, who lives five houses from the Scruggses.

Conestoga Middle School students who live in Scruggs' neighborhood said the boy loves to skateboard and hopes to become a professional.

"He's cool with his friends," said Stilyan Slavov, a seventh-grader. "He's nice."

Scruggs didn't talk much of guns, his friends said, and didn't seem depressed.

"I didn't think Brandon would do anything like this," said Henry Taylor, a seventh-grader.

Anyone with information about the shooting or Scruggs is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 503-846-2700.

"We are very interested in talking with anyone who might know why he was so troubled," O'Connell said. "We want to know what he was doing in Reedville and what was so bad about his life that he felt he needed police to shoot him."