Bullets riddle startled Glenfair resident’s truck

Find out why the shooting may have been gang-related, but the victim certainly had no fear of police …

Portland Police Bureau officers go door to door in the Glenfair neighborhood, just north of the MAX Light Rail tracks, looking for a gunman who shot out the windows of a resident’s SUV.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Usually when a gang member shoots up of house or car, they’re firing at another gang member.

But, in the Glenfair neighborhood of outer East Portland on January 2, at 5:15 p.m., a resident of NE 151^st Avenue – just north of East Burnside Street – heard gunfire while pulling out of driveway.

And then the passenger side of his Honda Odyssey exploded into shards, a bullet ricocheted and cracked his windshield, and other bullets shattered a mid-vehicle wing vent.

Officers protect the crime scene; several folded business cards mark the location of spent bullet shells.

At the scene of the shooting, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct District officers cordoned off the area, and placed folded business cards over spent bullet casings to mark their location.

“He said he didn’t feel safe, and drove away,” an officer told East Portland News. “The car is at the Hansen Building.”

In front of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Hansen Building, officers look at the damage caused to the SUV by the bullets.

Apparently, the startled driver stepped on the gas, and sped north to NE Glisan Street, headed west and pulled into the parking lot of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Hansen Building, before calling the 9-1-1 Center.

In front of the Sheriff’s Office building, other officers waited for PPB Criminalists to document the shot-up vehicle.

“The male adult victim was seated in his car in front of his home when the shots were fired into the vehicle,” PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson later confirmed.

The driver of the vehicle was uninjured, Simpson said.

Officials say they don’t know if this shooting was a case of mistaken identity, a failed carjacking attempt, or robbery.

“A possible suspect was seen running from the scene and is described as an African American male wearing red clothing,” Simpson added. “Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to call the Police Non-Emergency Line at (503) 823-3333.”

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