Portland police was on the scene of 2022’s first deadly shooting on the first. Two dead and a third injured at an apartment complex at NE 131st and NE Sandy. Several cars in the complex have windows shot out. Neighbors said they heard “a lot” of gunshots. This happened around 1:45 a.m. One neighbor said she heard at least 10 gunshots and possibly a car driving off.
Responding police and paramedics found three men who had been shot. One died at the scene; a second died at the hospital; a third is being treated for what police described as non-life-threatening injuries. There is no information about a suspect.
“No one is more aware of how much pain and heartache and fear this gun violence is causing our community than the officers that are responding to these calls,” Portland Police Sergeant Kevin Allen said. “The police perspective is that this is a shocking chain of events,” Allen said. “We need to continue to get cooperation from the community so we can make a difference in this gun violence problem.” Allen also stating, the police bureau looked forward to working with community organizations to stem the violence that is instilling fear in thousands of Portlanders.
Allen said police do not believe they are the sole group that can solve or end gun violence. “It is certainly not unusual to see rival groups that are shooting at each other in retaliation for a shooting that happened previously. That tit-for-tat is what we want to do our best to interrupt,” Allen said.
Next week, a new unit of officers focused on preventing shootings, start training. Areas with saturated violence will be patrolled areas by these officers and will focus on situations where retaliation is likely. Allen cautioned that the team would not prevent all shootings, though the unit would do its part.
