Shootout at Chuck E. Cheese shatters windows

Here’s how the fun ended for patrons of an outer East Portland family pizza parlor, mid-afternoon on Saturday …

Just west of SE 92^nd Avenue along Powell Boulevard in the Lents neighborhood, a shooting outside this Chuck E. Cheese restaurant shuts it down for the day.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

An afternoon of fun and pizza ended early, at 3:41 p.m. on January 5, for families visiting the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, 9120 SE Powell Boulevard. That was the moment when shots rang out in front of the store.

“We’d just gone in, when we heard what sounded like firecrackers going off outside; but when we heard yelling, we ran to the back of the place,” explained Jociviea Green to East Portland News, as she watched the police investigation unfold. “I know there a lot of gangsters in the area, but I’ve never seen any problems like this at the Chuck E. Cheese.”

An officer cordons off the area where shots were fired.

After marking shell casings with folded business cards (left, on the ground), officers maintain the security of the crime scene.

Seven Portland Police Bureau (PPB) cruisers rolled into the parking lot; some officers began cordoning off the area with yellow tape. Others marked the location of spent bullet casings on the ground with folded business cards.

“Officers searched for suspects and victims injured in the reported gunfire; but, didn’t locate any connected to this shooting investigation,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Burley.

Investigators find the side window of this Dodge Caravan was shattered during the shooting.

“As officers continued the investigation, they canvassed the area, and located evidence of gunfire in the parking lot on the west side of the Chuck E. Cheese,” Burley reported. “Officers also located an unoccupied vehicle parked on the west side of the Chuck E. Cheese that appeared to have been damaged by gunfire.”

Burley told us that there had been no reports of anyone arriving at area hospitals with injuries as a result of the shooting incident.

Frightened families huddle inside the restaurant as the shooting investigation continues.

“This investigation is ongoing; anyone who witnessed the shooting or who possesses video surveillance footage of it is asked to contact Portland Police Bureau Tactical Operations Division Gun Violence Response Team (GVRT) at 503-823-4106,” Burley concluded.

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