PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – KOIN 6 News talked to neighbors impacted by gun violence, after PPB said a man died after a shooting around noon Wednesday near Dawson Park.
Dawson park is notorious for shootings, and KOIN 6 records show a disturbing trend over the years.
“I heard the gunshots, just like I heard the gunshots yesterday,” a neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous for safety, said.
He added “I’ve gotten really good at telling what’s a gunshot and what’s a firework.”
On Tuesday, he counted four gunshots in a shooting that police say killed a man. Now, candles lay in his place.
Neighbors have watched the unchecked criminal activity devastate Dawson Park.
“As the drug dealers started showing up, the violence got much more frequent and dealers were operating out in the open. There’s nowhere to report an open-air drug market, so the best I’ve been able to do is to report a campsite,” the neighbor said.
As citizens are calling on city leaders to act, it’s important to remember the history of gun violence here.
In 2018, police investigated a shooting at Dawson Park that sent a man to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
In 2019, police say a fight at the north Portland park led to gunfire. No injuries were reported, but a car was shot up.
In 2020, Kelley Marie Smith, was making her last Uber Eats delivery when someone at Dawson Park stopped and asked her for a ride. At that time, her car was riddled with bullets striking and killing her.
Last year, in 2021, a man was shot dead in broad daylight next to the children’s playground.
Now, in 2022 history repeats itself as a man was shot dead once again by a children’s park in the middle of the day.
KOIN 6 is told neighbors would like to see speed bumps or barrels installed to slow traffic down, police address the apparent drug dealing, and city leaders to acknowledge the gang activity dominating Dawson Park.