PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Amidst a surge of gun violence in Portland, bystanders are getting caught in the crossfire.
Early Tuesday morning, Portland police said a woman was hit by an apparent stray bullet in her home near Southeast 64th Avenue and Southeast Woodward Street. Her face was reportedly struck by a fragment while she was sleeping.
The shooting is just one of several recently where an innocent bystander is hurt or killed. In this case, police said the woman will survive but she is in the hospital being treated for her injuries.
City Commissioner Mingus Mapps said the City Council needs to take action to prevent shootings.
“In a city the size of Portland, you typically expect us to have about 1,100 police officers — right now we have about 800 police officers,” he said. “That mismatch is one of the reasons that we’re in this situation.”
Mapps was the only city leader to respond to an interview request Tuesday. Mayor Ted Wheeler has denied repeated interview requests this week about gun violence.
“I think our next step here has to be to setup a focused police response that is concerned with preventing gun violence before it starts,” Mapps added.
The City Council disbanded the Gun Violence Reduction Team in July 2020. Police started the Enhanced Community Safety Team which investigates shootings. PPB also has a Focused Intervention Team in the works.