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A 25-year-old Sunriver man faces charges for allegedly firing a high-powered rifle into the Deschutes County jail Thursday night, then leading deputies on a high-speed chase along U.S. Highway 97 where he twice drove against traffic in southbound lanes.

Authorities believe Nicholas Ryan Preston-Cooper intended to either confront deputies outside the jail or break into the jail and free his father, John Matthew Cooper, 54, of La Pine, who was arrested earlier that day, said Sgt. Jason Wall, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Cooper is alleged to have lured a 17-year-old girl for sexual favors.

Preston-Cooper was arrested after a deputy was able to stop his car at the bottom of the off ramp on Cottonwood Road.

The elder Cooper faces charges of second-degree online sexual corruption, luring a minor for sexual conduct, and the attempted use of a child in display of sexual conduct.

The younger Cooper faces a slew of charges stemming from the alleged shooting and chase, including the unlawful use of a weapon, discharging a firearm across a highway, five counts of recklessly endangering people and attempting to elude law enforcement.

Bend Police began investigating John Cooper on Feb. 23 after a 17-year-old girl posted on social media that she was seeking employment, prompting Cooper to respond and offer her part-time office work at his business, according to a press release from Bend Police spokeswoman Sheila Miller.

The release said Cooper then texted the girl in a “sexually suggestive way.” Uncomfortable, the girl told her mom, who reported this to law enforcement.

Acting as the 17-year-old, police continued texting Cooper, who reportedly offered alcohol, sent explicit photos, and requested explicit photos and sexual favors from her, the release said.

“He also indicated that he’d had other teens work for him in the past, including customers’ daughters,” Miller said in the release.

Bend police arrested John Cooper at his business, Cooper Racing and Repair, on Venture Lane in Sunriver, at around 11 a.m. Thursday.

Just before 9 p.m., Thursday evening, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report that a man had fired a gun outside their headquarters and was waiting for law enforcement in the jail parking lot. The sheriff’s office and jail were put on a lock down, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Law enforcement officers did not initially find Preston-Cooper or confirm that a shot had been fired.

In a news release, Wall said Preston-Cooper drove into a parking lot across Highway 20 from the sheriff’s office and fired a round from a high-powered rifle into the jail’s administrative entrance. Then, he drove into the overflow parking lot of the sheriff’s office and waited to be confronted by law enforcement before leaving.

Wall said the bullet pierced the outer wall of the jail and stopped in a cinder block wall in the jail’s foyer. Nobody was in the area where the bullet came to a halt, the press release said.

The person who called 911 helped deputies locate Preston-Cooper, and his Jeep Cherokee in the Sunriver Business Park.

Detectives reportedly watched him loading “items” into his Jeep. Authorities later learned he had loaded three guns, a bulletproof vest without ballistics plates, and ammunition into his Jeep.

“It is the belief of investigators Preston-Cooper had intentions of forcing a confrontation with law enforcement,” Wall said in his press release.

Deputies followed Preston-Cooper as he drove away toward Highway 97, but he sped away as they tried to stop him, driving north in the southbound lane and twice driving back and forth across the median.

Preston-Cooper reportedly turned his car around near the entrance to the High Desert Museum and sped south. Authorities pursued him and spiked his car twice as he neared the highway exit for Cottonwood Road.

“It is a scary situation,” Wall said Friday evening. He added: “This could have been very different had this occurred during regular business hours.”

In a release, Bend Police said: “Because (John Cooper) reported he often hired young people to work for him, Bend Police are concerned there may be additional victims. Anyone who may have had inappropriate contact with Cooper is asked to contact the nonemergency dispatch line, 541-693-6911 and reference case # 23-00011214.”