PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A suspect who was shot and killed during an officer-involved shooting in the Southwest Hills Saturday night has been identified, Portland police said.
The suspect, 30-year-old Joel Michael Arevalo, was shot in the Southwest League Neighborhood.
Around 6:45 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a disturbance in the 900 block of SW Broadway Drive, when shots were fired, PPB Lt. Nathan Sheppard said.
Sheppard said there were “a number of witnesses who directed officers to where the shooter was,” but said he did not have enough information at this time to say who was killed.
During a press conference on Sunday, Sheppard said the incident began with a separate disturbance, but did not elaborate on what the disturbance was or how it may have escalated.
The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Acting Sergeant Zachary Kenney and Officer Reynaldo Guevara. Kenney is a 17-year veteran and Guevara joined PPB in January 2020.
“It took a while to progress,” Sheppard said, before the officer or officers opened fire.
He said no officers were hurt.
There was also a shelter-in-place order during the police response, but that was lifted late Saturday night.
Sheppard said he believes the current 2022 homicide total in Portland is 15, with 14 of those by gunfire. Overall there have been 203 shooting incidents so far, with 50 people wounded.
The escalating gun violence, he said, “is challenging for the City of Portland.”
This was the second press conference PPB held Sunday about the Saturday shootings, including the one at Normandale Park that began as an confrontation between an armed homeowner and armed protesters. But the first press conference, held outside in downtown Portland, was hijacked by protesters who took over the microphone to shout conspiracy theories about PPB that included references to the Gypsy Jokers, Andy Ngo and John Dillinger.
Sheppard walked away from that event minutes after it began.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt said the weekend shootings “spanned our neighborhoods from East to West.” He also thanked “the people on the front lines” for responding to the shootings and noted it “takes an incredible toll” on first responders.
“As I and everyone in my office work diligently to review the facts and evidence of each shooting, issue charges, and prosecute, we hold two infallible truths closest to our hearts: victims deserve justice and harm cannot and will not go unaccounted for.”