Two of these incidents were in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, whose residents wrote City Hall about the ‘shootings’ problem last week – and are still seeking answers – and help …
Law enforcement officers and medical personnel are called to multiple outer East Portland shootings, this week in Hazelwood, Sumner, and Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhoods.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Violent people using guns continued to shoot up outer East Portland this week, and the number of shooting victims continues to climb – as we log four more incidents of armed brutality on our streets.
Although for months East Portland News – and, independently, residents of the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood just last week – have asked Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, officially Portland’s Commissioner of Police, and Portland City Council members for their plan to curb the spate of shootings in outer East Portland – so far, no strategy to actually do so has been revealed.
>> Read on to see what these concerned neighbors are saying about the continued violence on their residential street, and the response they’ve received, so far, from their elected officials …
February 1
Man shot in Hazelwood suffers life-threatening injuries
Rain doesn’t hinder law enforcement officers from investigating this shooting in the Hazelwood neighborhood.
East Precinct officers of the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) were dispatched to a “Shots Fired” incident bright and early on Monday, February 1, at 5:37 a.m., to the Hazelwood neighborhood – specifically, to East Burnside Street near 105th Avenue.
“Officers found an adult male who had been shot; the victim was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries,” affirmed PPB Public Information Officer Derek Carmon; no suspect had yet been identified.
If you have information about this incident, Case No. #21-28735, please email your tip to crimetips@portlandoregon.gov, or call the PPB “Tip Line at (503) 823-3333.
February 2 ~ 3:16 a.m
Woman shot in her own Sumner bedroom
Police and paramedics come to the aid of a woman, shot in her bed, in outer Northeast Portland.
The next reported shooting took place on NE 91st Avenue near Sumner Street – just west of Parkrose – in the Sumner neighborhood, during the wee hours of Tuesday, February 2.
PPB North Precinct officers, who were sent on this call at 3:16 a.m., learned from dispatchers that a woman had been awakened by bullets smashing into her bedroom.
“The adult female caller said that she’d been shot five times, was in her bed, and could not move,” related Officer Carmen.
Because victim also said there were two Pit Bull dogs in the house, “With little time to act, the officers entered through the victim’s bedroom window and removed her through the window to get medical attention,” Carmon said. “The victim was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, and her status is unknown at this time.”
This investigation is ongoing and detectives request that anyone with information about this incident please contact the Portland Police Bureau at crimetips@portlandoregon.gov, or by calling (503) 823-3333. When you do, refer to Case No. #21-29644.
February 2 ~ 9:11 p.m.
Multiple people shot in Powellhurst-Gilbert
Again, officers are called to this area on SE 122nd Avenue to investigate a shooting.
The second outer East Portland shooting incident of February 2nd left three men wounded.
On February 2, at 9:11 p.m., officer from the East Precinct responded to a shooting in the 4300 block of SE 122nd Avenue – the same place where, back on December 23, a subject had told officers he was just “shooting into the air”, for fun. Although the officers said they didn’t believe the man’s story, they had little evidence, except for the spent shell casings, to go on.
But, unlike that December incident, as officers arrived at the scene again this week, the dispatcher notified them that three victims had already walked into different area hospitals, each with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Portland Police Bureau detectives provided this photo from within the crime scene that clearly illustrates the high number of shots fired at this incident. PPB image
According to PPB spokesperson Officer Derek Carmon:
- One adult male was shot five times – in the foot three times, and once each in the wrist and the shoulder;
- One adult male was shot once in the ankle; and,
- One adult male was shot once in the buttocks.
“Officers did locate evidence of the gunfire; and additionally they found seven vehicles that had been struck by gunfire,” Carmon reported. “Two occupied residences and one occupied mobile home were struck by gunfire – with one of the bullets entering a living room, where a young child had been, just five minutes prior to the shooting.”
No arrests have been made – and PPB detectives ask that, if you have any information about this shooting – it’s Case No. #21-30434 – please email crimetips@portlandoregon.gov, or call Police Non-Emergency at (503) 823-3333.
February 4
Mobile shootout, again, along SE 136th Ave. injures couple
The don’t find vehicles or victims, but officers do find “evidence” of shots being fired.
Two days later, a gun-related incident gave Powellhurst-Gilbert neighbors yet another reason to be concerned about shootouts along SE 136th Avenue – the exact same area where the infamous “mile-long crime scene” ended in a widely-reported December 15 shooting. (And, not far away, just north of SE Powell Boulevard, there have been three shootings – one deadly – on July 10 and July 12, and another one on January 3.)
It was in the very early morning of Thursday, February 4, that PPB East Precinct officers were dispatched to another “Shots Fired” incident at 12:32 a.m. at SE 136th Avenue, between Bush and Center streets.
“Officers discovered evidence of gunfire,” PPB Public Information Officer Sergeant Kevin Allen acknowledged, but didn’t immediately find victims or suspects. “As they began the investigation, the officers’ dispatcher notified them that two people involved in the shooting had driven to SE Foster Road, near 114th Avenue, stopped, and had themselves called 9-1-1.”
An ambulance takes the male, wounded by bullets, to a local hospital.
Emergency medical first-responders, as well as officers, arrived there to find a vehicle with two injured persons inside, at the side of the road, about 2.3 miles from the reported shooting’s location.
“The injured persons, one adult male and one adult female, were transported by ambulance to a hospital, where they are recovering from serious injuries,” the Sergeant said. “No arrests have been made so far.”
That investigation is also ongoing; if you can provide information, email detectives at crimetips@portlandoregon.gov, or call (503) 823-3333. Make sure to reference Case No. #21-31510.
‘No response’ to letter yet, neighbors say
In the last week of January, Powellhurst-Gilbert neighbors – under the leadership of resident Yashica Palshikar – drafted a letter and sent it to Mayor Ted Wheeler, members of the Portland City Council, and other elected officials.
We printed it in its entirety, here in East Portland News. CLICK HERE to read that thoughtful letter.
“As of today [February 4], nobody on the Portland City Council has responded directly to me about my letter, [providing] no answers to my questions,” Palshikar told us.
She commented that Oregon State Representative Janelle Bynum (D-District 51) had urged the Portland City Council to hold a “Town Hall on public safety in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood”, after herself receiving the letter.
“I have received an outpouring of support, encouragement, and gratitude from many neighbors, and people outside of our neighborhood in the community at large, who live in different parts of Portland,” Palshikar told East Portland News.
“Other neighborhood associations have been motivated to send their own letters, with several signatures; and other community members have said they want to write or testify at City Council – but they want help organizing their thoughts, [because] our neighbors have traumatic stories that need to be heard – due to the violence and irresponsible gun use which has not stopped,” she continued.
“Parents still worry whether their babies are safe in their own homes!” exclaimed Palshikar.
Don’t wait for someone else to speak up
If you, yourself, are concerned about all these shootings in outer East Portland, now is the time to let your City of Portland elected officials know about it – they’re working on the net Portland City Budget, right now.
Please do provide your full name and neighborhood (anonymous emails are typically discarded) – and please use polite and civil language, as you advocate for increased public safety for your neighborhood’s streets when you send email messages to:
Ted.Wheeler@portlandoregon.gov
Joann.Hardesty@portlandoregon.gov
Mingus.Mapps@portlandoregon.gov
Carmen.rubio@portlandoregon.gov
© 2021 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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