Nicholas Ryan Preston-Cooper allegedly fired a high-powered rifle at the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, March 2 around 9 pm. Dispatchers received a call reporting an armed man fired a round into the building, but the suspect wasn't found on the scene at the time. Investigators spoke with the person who reported the shooting, and were able to locate the suspect's vehicle near Preston-Cooper's residence in the Sunriver Business Park.
Detectives surveilled Preston-Cooper and saw him loading up his Jeep Cherokee with "items," and then began traveling toward Highway 97. Preston-Cooper fled at high speed after realizing law enforcement officers were attempting to stop him. He drove north in the southbound lanes of Highway 97 away from Sunriver, at which point cops halted their pursuit. Officers reengaged Preston-Cooper when he turned back onto southbound Highway 97 near the High Desert Museum and were able to deploy spike strips, hitting the suspect's vehicle and ultimately stopping him south of the Sunriver exit on Highway 97.
Officers detained Preston-Cooper without incident, and discovered a rifle, shotgun, handgun and ammunition in his car. In interviews after the arrest, Preston-Cooper suggested he sought confrontation with law enforcement after the arrest of his father, John Matthew Cooper, who deputies arrested earlier that day for allegedly sending sexually suggestive text messages to a minor.
"He was hoping to have confrontation with law enforcement. And another possible motive for his behavior for his actions was an attempt to possibly free his father from our custody in our adult jail," Sgt. Jason Wall told the Source Weekly.
Cooper's arrest occurred after a 17-year-old girl's mother reported the elder Cooper for allegedly sending sexual text messages after offering her a job at his business, Cooper Racing and Repair. Police posed as the girl, and Cooper allegedly offered her alcohol, sent explicit photos and requested explicit photos and sexual favors. During the investigation, Cooper said he'd hired other teens before. The Bend Police Department is asking anyone who may have had inappropriate contact with Cooper to contact its non-emergency dispatch line at 541-693-6911.
Police charged the younger Preston-Cooper with 15 counts related to the shooting and subsequent car chase. A bullet penetrated the wall of the sheriff's office building, but nobody was present where the round was found, and no officers or the suspect were injured during the chase.
