Teen wounded in Hazelwood shooting, near park

INCLUDES AFTERMATH & INVESTIGATION VIDEO | EXCLUSIVE SHOOTING REPORT | In addition to wounding the victim just steps from Gateway Discovery Park, see the damage the shooter and his pals did at the gunfire scene in outer East Portland – and also, see the havoc as they made their not-so-clean getaway …

Next to the main entrance of Gateway Discover Park in the Hazelwood neighborhood, officers stand guard over a sea of yellow evidence markers showing the location of spent bullet casings.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

On the street alongside Gateway Discovery Park, on NE 106th Avenue at Halsey Street in the Hazelwood neighborhood, this incident started when shots rang out in the early Monday evening of June 2. But, this occurrence led to another crime scene, five blocks north, in the Parkrose Heights neighborhood.

“I was about a block away when I heard maybe a dozen shots – pop, pop, pop, pop, rapid-fire-like – as I was walking [south on NE 106th Avenue toward Halsey Street] to the store,” a neighbor who asked not to be identified told East Portland News.

The big crash a witness heard was this Toyota being smashed – after being shot up.

“Then, squealing tires, and a big bang, like a car crash – and then, a sliver sedan comes roaring [north] past me on the dead-end street,” he described, not long after witnessing the incident.

But, Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers were dispatched on this “Shooting-with Weapon” call at 6:31 p.m. to a different location – five blocks due north – the 10600 Block of NE San Rafael Street.

See the aftermath of this shooting in our exclusive video coverage:

Neighbors at that northern location said they heard a car wildly driving north on NE 106th Avenue. Then, where it dead-ends into the back yard of a residence on NE San Rafael Street, the driver zig-zagged around this house and smashed through the steel chain link fence gate. A Ford SUV parked on the street – and some large boulders – brought the car to a stop. The occupants ran off.

At the northern end of his wild ride, the driver of this car – perhaps stolen – was clearly trying to smash his way out of a neighbor’s yard through the fence, pushing the gate and fence outward.

It didn’t take long for PPB officers to set up two crime scenes – one at Gateway Discovery Park, where they located more than a dozen spent shell casings – and the other where the getaway car was stuck half-way out of a neighbor’s fence.

As 17 officers and investigators arrived, NE Halsey and Weidler streets were closed off, as was 106th Avenue.

Back at the southern end of the investigation, two of the three fresh bullet holes are clearly visible on the side of this Toyota.

Across the intersection from the shooting at NE 106th Avenue and Halsey Street, a burgundy Toyota Venza XLE hybrid SUV – with a smashed front end – was stopped with its back tire on the sidewalk. Also noticeable were three fresh bullet holes in the passenger’s side of the vehicle, and another hole in the headrest.

PPB Forensics Unit personnel began documenting both scenes; as were members of the Bureau’s Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST), who investigated the shooting.

Up north again, in Parkrose Heights, more officers gather to collect evidence where the criminals bailed out and ran away.

“Officers found one victim, a 15-year-old male, who had been injured by gunfire – he was taken to a local hospital by ambulance for treatment,” PPB Public Information Manager Mike Benner told East Portland News the following day.

“It appears the teen was in a vehicle when he was shot at by someone in another vehicle,” Benner continued.

“Through the course of the probe into this incident, ECST investigators found three additional vehicles that had been struck by gunfire,” Benner added. “Fortunately, nobody in those vehicles was physically hurt.

“At this point, no arrests have been made as the suspect(s) fled the scene; no further information will be shared at this time,” Benner concluded.

An officer looks at the shot-up Toyota while protecting the crime scene.

If you have information about this shooting, and have not already talked to police, please e-mail crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov – to the attention of ECST, and refer to Case No. 25-145949.

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