Ore. murder suspect believed dead in Dallas gunfire

DALLAS — Police in DeSoto, Texas, believe they shot and killed a dangerous fugitive Tuesday night who was wanted in connection with two murders in Portland, Ore.

Police confirmed that one man was dead and a second individual was hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The dead man is believed to be 26-year-old Colby Robinson, who was wanted in connection with a double-homicide in Portland last week. Investigators said the medical examiner's office would determine the identity.

The wounded person may have been shot by Robinson, police said. No condition report was available.

There were multiple crime scenes under investigation, including a Jack in the Box restaurant and an adjacent Exxon convenience store.

Robinson was wanted on two counts of aggravated murder. Police said he evaded capture Tuesday morning in DeSoto, just south of Dallas.

DeSoto police said Robinson had been seen on foot near the intersection of Wintergreen Road and Interstate 35E earlier in the day 3 miles south of Tuesday night's gunfire.

Brian Watson, a clerk at a 7-Eleven convenience store at that corner, said Robinson was spotted in his store Tuesday night.

"He stayed in maybe seven to 10 seconds and left the store," said Watson. "At this point, I'm concerned because he might either try to rob us or kill us."

Watson said he then followed the man out of the store.

"I jumped in my car, got behind them, got the license plate number," he said. "As they got on 35, I got on the service road and came back to the job."

Police believe Robinson killed two people and critically injured a third Friday night in Portland.

Gary Pham, 33, and his 41-year-old sister-in-law, Susie Pham, were shot in the head and killed around 10 p.m. Friday at an apartment on Southeast 85th Avenue near Division Street, Portland police said.

From left: Andrew Pham, Susie Pham with her infant daughter, Gary Pham.

Andrew Pham, 35 — who is Gary's brother and Susie's husband — was critically wounded.

Andrew and Susie's 13-week-old baby was unharmed in the shooting and is being cared for by her grandparents.

In a statement Tuesday, the victims' family thanked the community for the outpouring of support and asked people to pray for Andrew as he remains in critical condition at a Portland hospital.

"Words cannot express the grief and shock that we feel at such a senseless crime," they said. "We fully support law enforcement's efforts to locate and arrest the perpetrator. We hope that he will be swiftly brought to justice so that he cannot inflict such pain on anyone else."

The motive for the shooting is unknown. Detectives learned that all three victims were involved in the medical marijuana industry, but Sgt. Pete Simpson of the Portland police department said it's unclear whether that played a role in the shooting.

Simpson said the incident didn't appear to be gang-related.

One witness told KGW-TV he heard nearly two dozen gunshots.

"In 10 years I haven't seen anything like this," said Portland bar owner Stefan Kovatchev.

Robinson was described as 6-feet, 2-inches tall, with multiple neck tattoos.

Contributing: KGW-TV, Portland.