BEND, Ore. -- In a stunning revelation, authorities announced that FBI agents are under investigation for two shots fired at Oregon refuge occupier Lavoy Finicum. The Deschutes County sheriff said the agents failed to disclose the shots to state investigators.
The shots were fired as Finicum crashed his truck, before he was shot by Oregon State Police troopers. Which agent or agents fired the shots still was unknown Tuesday, authorities said.
Oregon State Police troopers opened fire during the Jan. 26 traffic stop that also led to the arrests of the leaders of the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
State authorities said Tuesday that two troopers were justified in killing Finicum, who helped lead the standoff at the refuge. A third was justified for firing three shots at Finicum's pickup at it approached a roadblock at a high speed.
According to Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris and Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, a total of eight shots were fired by law enforcement, six by the Oregon State Police and two by the FBI.
An autopsy showed that Finicum was hit in the torso by three shots fired by two OSP troopers. One of them can be seen in an FBI video at the bottom of the frame. The second trooper is out of view below the frame. The trooper to the left in the video was carrying a taser.
The names of the troopers involved in the shooting will not be released for now in the name of their safety, Nelson said. There have been at least 70 specific threats against their lives, he said.
For the press conference, investigators synced the FBI video with cellphone video shot inside Finicum's truck by passenger Shawna Cox.
The video shows the initial police stop of Finicum's truck. During that stop, the vehicle carrying Ammon Bundy and others was also stopped. Everyone in that vehicle surrendered.
Cox's video shows the group in Finicum's truck discussing whether to stay or flee. Cox suggests all the passengers crouch down while Finicum drives.
OSP troopers can be heard identifying themselves. Finicum says they are on the way to see the sheriff, Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer.
''I'm gonna be lying down on the ground with blood on the street or I'm gonna see the sheriff," Finicum can be heard saying.
Finicum sped away at 70 mph, Nelson said. As he approaches a police roadblock, an OSP trooper fires three rounds at the pickup to try and halt the truck. They can be heard on the Cox video.
Those shots were ruled justified use of deadly physical force, Harris said.
Investigators found where the three OSP shots hit the truck. They were puzzled by a fourth bullet hole in the roof of Finicum's pickup.
Federal officials at Tuesday's press conference said the fourth bullet hole prompted what is now an ongoing investigation into the conduct of the FBI agents.
The Office of the Inspector General is leading the investigation.
The head of the FBI in Oregon Greg Bretzing issued a statement Tuesday. It read in part:
The county’s investigation also indicated that, in between the two series of shots fired by OSP troopers, one, and possibly two, additional shots were fired by law enforcement as Mr. Finicum was exiting the vehicle after hitting the snow bank. As autopsy results confirm, neither of these shots struck Mr. Finicum. The question of who fired these shots has not been resolved. Upon learning this, and given the FBI presence on scene, I immediately contacted our Inspection Division which notified the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General which is currently investigating this matter.