Authorities have identified a 25-year-old armed robbery suspect that a Vancouver police officer shot and killed Friday in an apartment.

Justin A. Burton of Vancouver died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office. Burton was armed, stole a car, crashed and fled before he was found and shot by officers in a nearby second-floor apartment occupied by a man and four children, Vancouver police said.

Kim Kapp, Vancouver police spokeswoman, said further details on what weapon Burton had or any more details on what led to the shooting are not being released. The Camas Police Department is leading the shooting investigation, she said.

Officers responded to the 4500 block of Northeast 66th Avenue after a 911 caller reported a car crashed into a parked van in a retirement community parking lot. The suspect, later identified as Burton, fled through the complex and into a neighboring apartment complex, police said.

The car had been stolen minutes earlier, police said.

Vancouver officer Ed Letarte, 53, was earlier identified as the officer who shot Burton, and he has been put on standard paid administrative leave. Letarte has been with the Vancouver Police Department since September 1998 and has been a Southwest Washington Regional SWAT member since December 2005.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com
503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey

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