PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland police say there have been three shootings in the city within 48 hours, two of which took place in Southeast Portland.
On Thursday night, the Portland Police Bureau says a man was shot to death around 7:30 p.m. at a homeless camp near Southeast 74th and Powell. PPB tells KOIN 6 News the suspect — or suspects — fled the scene before officers had arrived.
A man at the camp said he didn’t hear anything, but “they’re not saying too much of anything, they’re saying what they say every day. I need something to eat. I’m hungry. I’m tired.”
On Wednesday, police said a 13-year-old was shot while walking along 112th Street near Division. He now suffers critical injuries.
A neighbor living nearby said he and some of his neighbors have surveillance footage showing that child walking and getting shot by someone in a car in broad daylight, just before 4 p.m.
So far, authorities have yet to report any suspects.
Amie Wexler from Oregon’s chapter of Moms Demand Action, a national organization that works to curb gun violence, says the ongoing gun violence in Portland is heartbreaking.
Franklin High and Atkinson Elementary secured their perimeters Thursday after shots were heard near campus. The high school chose to cancel classes on Friday.
“I mean, there’s really no words. I’m a parent. You know, I have kids in Portland Public Schools,” Wexler said. “I care very much about our community and my heart breaks for that family and for that community and there’s just the feeling of being unsafe that we can’t go out in public and be safe.”
Moms Demand Action has been lobbying for a bill in the Oregon legislature that would raise the legal age for purchasing an AR-style gun from 18 to 21. The bill still hasn’t had a hearing.