Officers say Michael Johnson, 53, was killed on the morning of Dec. 23, shot inside his tent in the area of North Vancouver Avenue and North Farragut Street, after a 911 caller alerted dispatchers.
Portland Police Bureau officers checked the area for a suspect, but believe those involved drove off after the shooting. Now, detectives want anyone who was in Farragut Park between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 23 to contact them. Officers established a crime scene near Farragut City Park, where about a dozen tents are crowded beneath the Vancouver Avenue bridge.
Anthony Johnson, Michael Johnson’s brother. He said his brother lived in a homeless community under the Vancouver Street Bridge. He said he visited his brother there a lot. “He took care of those people over there,” Anthony Johnson said. “He looked out for those people, fed them, made sure that they had things that they needed. He was just a good guy.”
“He didn’t deserve to be murdered like that. I just don’t understand it,” he said.
Johnson’s message to his brother’s killer is this: “When you kill somebody, you destroy not only that person’s life, but the whole family’s lives, and then you destroy your life in a way, too,” he said. “Turn yourself in. Face the consequences. Be accountable.”
Beverly, who declined to give her last name during an interview with a reporter said she was inside her own tent when she heard an unfamiliar male voice arguing with Michael Johnson. Then she said she heard what she only realized later was the sound of gunfire.
“He was face down not breathing,” she said.
Anthony Johnson said his brother, who leaves behind a son, didn’t carry a weapon or mention any problems with those living in the encampment, adding that Michael was the type of person to make sure everyone in the unhoused community had something to eat. Anthony Johnson had recently tried to get his brother off the streets, but Michael “just wasn’t ready,” he said.
