PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Police spent Sunday afternoon searching for an armed man that may have been hiding in a wooded area near homes in Southwest Portland after a person was shot.
Police were searching a long stretch of woods between Terwilliger and Barbur near the Chart House restaurant and Southwest Ralston Drive.
Portland Police Bureau Lt. Greg Pashley told KOIN 6 News officers responded to a report of a shooting and found a gunshot victim in the wooded area in the 5200 block of SW Barbur Blvd. Officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived on the scene and took the person to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
However, despite the search for a suspect, officers believe the suspect was able to flee the scene.
Names of the suspect and victim have not been released.
One neighbor who lives nearby told KOIN 6 News that officers showed him a picture of the suspect and asked him to call 911 if he saw them.
“Police officers came and I was like ‘Whoa, what’s going on?'” Ryan Smith said. “We heard noise out there and the police officer explained to me there was an armed suspect down in the woods area somewhere.”
Neighbors in the area said they have not heard gunfire, but there there has been a lot of activity in the area.
Smith said it has been a long year because of the pandemic and that people in general are resorting to more violence.
“There’s a lot of activity…not always legal activity,” he said. “I think everybody’s dealing with gunshots in their neighborhoods, it’s a pretty bad problem right now.”
Guy Boileau said he’s also noticed a lot more activity in the area.
“I’m aware there have been issues just down the road and I know historically, there has been a lot of theft across the street. I live on a quiet little street — it doesn’t mean I’m immune,” he said.
Boileau said it’s good to know that there are at least people in the community paying attention to what’s happening.