PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A shooting that left one woman dead and 5 others wounded Saturday night in Portland’s Normandale Park was described as a “very complicated, very intricate” investigation by Portland police in a Sunday afternoon press conference.
PPB Lt. Nathan Sheppard answered questions in a Zoom press conference on the Normandale shooting as well as the officer-involved shooting that left another person dead in the Southwest Hills neighborhood.
Sheppard confirmed the Normandale Park shooting near NE 55th and Hassalo began as a confrontation between an armed resident and armed protesters who were there demanding “justice for Amir Locke and Daunte Wright. Others were there for Patrick Kimmons.
But he did not say who was shot — the protesters, the homeowner, or both — and he also said it would be “irresponsible” at this stage of the investigation to publicly release any information about arrests.
Candles and graffiti at the scene of a makeshift memorial in Portland’s Normandale Park one day after a shooting left one woman dead and 5 others wounded, February 20, 2022 (KOIN) 
Candles and graffiti at the scene of a makeshift memorial in Portland’s Normandale Park one day after a shooting left one woman dead and 5 others wounded, February 20, 2022 (KOIN) 
Candles and graffiti at the scene of a makeshift memorial in Portland’s Normandale Park one day after a shooting left one woman dead and 5 others wounded, February 20, 2022 (KOIN) 
Candles and graffiti at the scene of a makeshift memorial in Portland’s Normandale Park one day after a shooting left one woman dead and 5 others wounded, February 20, 2022 (KOIN) 
Candles and graffiti at the scene of a makeshift memorial in Portland’s Normandale Park one day after a shooting left one woman dead and 5 others wounded, February 20, 2022 (KOIN)
In a Sunday night statement, Mayor Ted Wheeler said 3 of the wounded suffered life-threatening injuries and the other is expected to recover.
Asked if there was no danger to the public, Sheppard demurred.
“}There are a lot of guns in our city, you know, and there are a lot of responsible gun owners. And there are also people who aren’t as responsible,” he said. “So can I definitively say there is no danger? No. We are people of free will.”
Detectives investigating the case, he said, were up for 35 hours looking into the various shooting, which is why he couldn’t provide a timeline on releasing any more information.
Police said most people fled the area without talking to police, complicating their investigation. They asked anyone with information to contact Detective Scott Broughton at (503) 823-3774 or Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457 and reference Case No. 22-47502.
During a Sunday morning press conference on the two high-profile shootings Saturday, protesters at the scene derailed the event and it was canceled as a result.
Sheppard spoke for two minutes at the Sunday morning press conference before protesters interrupted and took control of the platform.
Among other claims, protesters focused on PPB’s response to the shooting that took place Saturday night during a protest for Amir Locke in Portland’s Normandale Park. They alleged police arrested a medic providing aid to someone who had been shot.
Those who took over the microphone also shouted wild conspiracy theories about PPB that included references to the Gypsy Jokers, Andy Ngo and John Dillinger.
Protesters followed Sheppard as he walked to a car and drove away.
Editors Note: Portland police initially described the shooter as a homeowner; however, the house’s landlord told KOIN 6 News, Smith is a renter. At a Tuesday morning press conference, police referred to the shooter as a “resident.”