The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man who was shot and killed by law enforcement officers in Vancouver on May 30, 2023.
The shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m. last Tuesday evening in a parking lot off East Mill Plain Boulevard.
The county medical examiner confirmed that Joshua James Wilson, 43, of Vancouver, died of multiple gunshot wounds.
According to police, Wilson was wanted in two armed robberies and a burglary in the Vancouver area.
The Vancouver Police Neighborhood Response Team and Clark County Sheriff's Office Tactical Detectives Unit saw Wilson go into the Safeway on Mill Plain Boulevard, and they made a plan to take him into custody.
Police reports noted that Wilson, "was armed and had reportedly made statements that he would shoot police rather than be taken into custody."
He was leaving the grocery store when he saw the police. Officers said he dropped his bag of groceries, drew a gun, and ran off through the store’s parking lot.
When police tried to take him into custody, police said Wilson fired at them. Three Vancouver police detectives and a deputy returned fire, hitting him several times.
Police said they tried to save the man's life, but he died at the scene.
The Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team, led by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating the shooting.