UPDATED: See whom officials say they are are charging with murder …
A large area of the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood is closed off, while police look for a shooter who’d just killed a man.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
The sound of gunshots cracked through the night air on September 25, and then again on September 30, in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood of outer East Portland.
On Friday September 25, 2015, at 8:01 p.m., as many as 34 Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers converged at a shooting crime scene located at the corner of SE 132nd Avenue and Bush Street, following the report of a shooting, with one person injured.
The report of a shooting soon turns to a murder investigation.
Officers shut down all access to the area, from SE Holgate to Powell Boulevard, and 122nd to 135th Avenues, while they hunted for an armed man described as light-colored-skin male in his 30s, 5’6″ tall, with a medium build.
About 8:18 p.m., PPB Homicide Detectives were called in to the area; the Portland Police Mobile Precinct arrived in the parking lot of the Walgreens store at SE 122nd Avenue and SE Powell Boulevard.
SERT officers assemble to begin their search of the area for a suspect in this shooting.
A woman at the north end of the containment area, at 132nd Avenue, told reporters that she’d gotten a call from a friend who lives nearby. “At least one person was shot, and is dead”, she stated.
The PPB Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) rolled into the area, and started a yard-by-yard search for the shooting suspect.
“After an extensive neighborhood search by SERT, the neighborhood perimeter was cleared at approximately 12:30 a.m.,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Police look for the killer of this man, 25-year-old Tyler Jeffrey Woods.
The following afternoon, Simpson said, “The man killed in last night’s shooting has been identified as 25-year-old Tyler Jeffrey Woods of Southeast Portland.”
There was no additional information is available about this investigation until October 1.
30-year-old Ricky Dean Seaman was captured in Sacramento California, and will be extradited to Oregon, allegedly for the murder of Tyler Jeffrey Woods.
“U.S. Marshals in Sacramento, California arrested a fugitive wanted for this shooting death, 30-year-old Ricky Dean Seaman,” Simpson announced on October 1.
“Seaman was taken to the Sacramento County Jail. He will eventually be returned to Oregon to face a murder charge,” Simpson added.
Blocks away, man takes bullet to hand
Police cars again close down SE Powell Boulevard, four days after the first incident, when a man is shot in the hand.
Just after midnight on September 30, officers again pulled into the area of SE 122nd Avenue and SE Powell Boulevard, responding to another “shots fired” call.
Officers and medical personnel located the gunshot victim, a 24-year-old male. “He was suffering from a non-life-threatening injury,” Simpson said. “The victim was transported to a Portland hospital for treatment.”
The victim told police that he was walking on SE 122nd Avenue near Powell Boulevard when he was suddenly hit in the hand with a bullet.
“The victim did not know who shot him or where the shot came from in the area,” Simpson said. “A witness told police that a gunshot was heard in the area.”
A crime scene was not located, and there is no suspect information. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Assault detectives at 503-823-0400.
© 2015 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News
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