Shootout Leaves Two Injured After Armed Robbers Attack Oregon Casino
Pendleton OR Aug 22 2022
An Oregon tribal casino was at the center of an armed robbery this week, the gun-wielding suspect and a bystander both injured as police swooped on the Wildhorse Resort & Casino.
The incident took place in the middle of the afternoon, police responding to a reported robbery at the casino, which is located within the boundaries of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon.
A report from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation revealed that “law enforcement from multiple agencies” descended on the tribal casino.
As the armed suspect exited the casino, a shootout ensued, during which the suspect was injured, along with a bystander who was shot during the crossfire.
Both were taken to hospital and not believed to have life-threatening injuries, with Wildhorse CEO, Gary George, stating:
“We are grateful no one else was physically injured with all that took place. Security personnel and Tribal Police were quick to act and the situation was controlled in a swift manner, claiming, ‘Wildhorse employees are the best. The way the cashiers and everyone handled the situation was exemplary’.”
A witness told FOX3 news:
“I am still trying to process the horrific events that occurred at Wildhorse Resort and Casino today.”
The shootout comes just a couple of weeks after a similar incident occurred at the Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, which saw two security guards injured.
Rifle-wielding robbers targeted a Loomis US armoured van in a pre-planned ambush in the popular casino’s parking lot, opening fire on the security guards as they emerged from the truck.
After being met by a return of gunfire, the suspects fled the scene, but one security guard was shot in the incident, though his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
A second security guard, also believed to be working for Loomis US, received “cuts and multiple lacerations” in the incident according to police reports, though not from gunshots.
Casinos have long been a tempting target for would-be robbers, with poker players regularly caught up in such attacks.
Tom ‘3BetPanda’ Steinbach was shot and seriously wounded in a 2018 robbery-turned-shooting outside the Texas Card House in Austin.
Poker pro Joe ‘JoeySal’ Salvaggio had his Main Event buy-in robbed from him at gunpoint in the carpark of the Rio in Vegas during the 2019 WSOP.
The Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida was targeted by a gunman, as were the Aquarius Casino Resort and Golden Nugget casinos in Laughlin, the gunman shot and killed by police in the latter case.
A robbery at the Bellagio saw the suspect shot dead after a gunfight with Las Vegas police outside the casino in 2019.
49-year-old Las Vegas resident Michael Charles Cohen had previous convictions for bank robberies, as well as arrests for kidnapping and carjacking.
Cohen was the prime suspect for a 2017 armed robbery, also at the Bellagio, which happened within feet of Doyle Brunson playing poker.
