A crime spree that appeared to span three counties came to a violent end on Wednesday when a police officer shot a bank robbery suspect in Northeast Portland, law enforcement officials said.

A Portland cop wounded the suspect after he took police on a wild chase and crashed a stolen car in the North Tabor neighborhood, a bureau spokesman said.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was later rushed to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Sgt. Chris Burley, a police spokesman, said officers near Southeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Southeast Clinton Street first spotted a blue 1987 Chevrolet Blazer around 12:40 p.m. Authorities believed the vehicle had been stolen and was later involved with a Washington County bank robbery earlier in the day.

When the cops attempted to stop the driver he stepped on the gas and sped away, Burley said. Officers pursued the Blazer for more than two dozen blocks before the suspect plowed into a parked car along 100 block of Southeast 55th Avenue, between Couch and Davis streets.

Police shoot suspect in North Tabor 2 Gallery: Police shoot suspect in North Tabor

Burley said officers gave orders for the suspect to exit the Blazer and surrender. One of the cops then opened fire on the suspect after he refused to comply.

Officers provided first aid on the wounded man until emergency responders arrived, Burley said. One of the cops suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene.

Burley said authorities believe the Blazer had been boosted during a burglary in Yamhill County shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday. They also believe it was later used as a getaway vehicle in the robbery of the U.S. Bank branch, 18485 S.W. Farmington Road, around 9:30 a.m.

Officials said an armed suspect robbed the bank of an undisclosed amount of cash. Witnesses said the man left in a turquoise Blazer.

Two witnesses in Portland's North Tabor neighborhood told The Oregonian/OregonLive they heard numerous sirens converge on the area of the shooting. They then heard shouts followed by three shots.

Bill Bixenstein, 39, of Landis & Landis Construction was working road and sewer maintenance on Northeast 53rd Avenue near Couch when law enforcement swarmed the area.

He said he saw police surround the Blazer and tell a suspect to get out. But the suspect refused at first.

"He wasn't showing his hands," Bixenstein said.

Then came the shots.

About 15 to 20 seconds passed, Bixenstein said, before the suspect finally surrendered and police pulled him out of the SUV.

"It looked like he had been shot in the shoulder," Bixenstein said, adding that he could see a red blot and ripped clothing near that area of the man's body.

Bixenstein said he was shocked by the suspect's refusal to get out of the car. "You're hit, dude. You're done. You're boxed in. You may as well call it quits," he said.

David York, 63, who lives near Northeast 56th Avenue and Davis Street, also described hearing sirens, yelling then three shots.

"I heard three, four, five sirens. But they didn't pass by. I was starting to wonder what was going on," he said

Then he heard the shots.

"Three pops," York said.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh