Last week, the city was again trying to deal with the ongoing violence in the city. One shooting took place at Southeast Portland’s Cora Park Apartments. “…we will redouble our ongoing street level outreach efforts, revamp the work of the Office of Violence Prevention, and expand our community partnerships to offer actionable options to those now engaged in gun murders to step away from their violent lifestyle and make sustainable change.”
In Northeast Portland’s Parkrose neighborhood; an hour after the Cora Park shooting, a second person died due to gun violence. Then the police reported a third shooting outside a bar in St. Johns that left a man in critical condition.
Men are not the only ones shooting . A 43-year-old woman is accused of shooting her boyfriend while the two argued outside the Blue Bird Tavern. A couple days before, police said a 30-year-old man died after being shot in Southeast Portland’s Reed neighborhood.
Portland’s mayor has been in front of the media often talking about his moves in addressing violent crime. Ted Wheeler said his priority for the remainder of his time in office is to address homelessness and crime.
Wheeler said the Police Bureau’s Focused Intervention Team and Enhanced Community Safety Team is concentrating on gun violence and community outreach. He also said that he would increase staffing of sworn officers and unarmed public safety specialists. So far this year, at least 78 of the homicide victims died in shootings.
