‘Shootout’ troubles Mt. Scott-Arleta neighbors

Officers have little to go on, after dozens of shots are fired – other than a whole lot of bullet casings in the street, and holes in nearby buildings and a vehicle …

After this outer East Portland shootout had ended in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood, and the evening quiet had returned, arriving officers found the street littered with bullet casings.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

On the dank, cool evening of November 3, few people were out of doors along SE Woodstock Boulevard, near 73rd Avenue, save the patrons in the covered patio at Putter’s Bar and Grill, and a neighbor walking his dog along the street.

About 10:30 p.m., witnesses said that two black cars drove into the area, and their occupants opened fire on one another.

Fortunately, no one was in this car when bullets shattered its window, and pock-marked its door.

“It sounded like firecrackers going off; and I mean a lot of really BIG firecrackers a-poppin’ in the street,” recounted neighbor Betsy Humphrey to East Portland News. “When the cops pulled up right away, I knew it wasn’t firecrackers – but, instead, someone had been shooting up the neighborhood.”

“It looked like a shootout between cars, like you’d see in a gangster movie. I mean, they really ‘unloaded’ at each other,” reported the dog-walking neighbor, still shaken, who asked not to be identified. “I ducked behind edge of the building, until I heard them roar off.”

An officer looks for evidence, near the south edge of Mt. Scott Park.

Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers were first dispatched to SE 73rd Avenue, where it dead-ends into the south edge of Mt. Scott Park. Officers immediately located an unoccupied blue sedan with a bullet hole in the rear passenger door, as well as a shot-out window, parked at Putter’s.

As more officers pulled in and began surveying the area, they located bullet shell casings along SE 73rd Avenue, between Woodstock Boulevard and Martins Street.

Examining the wall of this apartment building, officers find bullet strikes.

“Officers located evidence of gunfire, to include 25 shell casings,” confirmed PPB Public Information Officer Melissa Newhard. “Officers learned that an occupied residence had been hit by gunfire, as well as a parked vehicle.”

As they continued investigating the shootout, not only did officers find bullet holes on the east side of the Marwood Plaza Apartments, they also found bullet strikes on street sign posts, and on the shed of the garden implement supply company across the street.

The more they look, the more evidence of the gunfight the officers find.

“There are no known victims that were hit by gunfire,” Newhard said. “There is no suspect description available at this time.” The investigation is still active.

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