PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A 30-year-old man has been identified as the victim of a shooting in Portland’s Lents neighborhood on Friday.
Jonathon “Johnny” Polanco was shot in the parking lot of a convenience store in the 4500 block of SE 92nd Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. Friday.
His family released photos to the media on Monday. A growing memorial of candles, flowers and images could be seen along the side of the road where Polanco was shot.
Polanco’s brother said Polanco was at the convenience store with his girlfriend when he says she was “jumped.” He said Polanco was trying to break it up when a stranger walked up and shot him.
“The people who did this took way more than you can imagine,” said Polanco’s girlfriend, KD Moline. “A fistfight turned into someone’s life being taken. And now more than just his life is lost; all of us are lost without him. I’m lost without him, I’m lost without him.”
Polanco’s death marks the 60th homicide of 2021 in Portland, many of which involved gun violence.
“I refuse to let him go as a statistic. He has a name — his name is Johnny Polanco and I will scream it until someone is behind bars for this,” said his brother, Robbie Polanco.
“My daughter lost her dad,” said Alex Christian, the mother of Johnny Polanco’s daughter. “I had to tell my 6-year-old when she came home from a trip that her dad was dead.”
All three people remembered Polanco as a bright spirit with a great sense of humor and a protector of his family and friends.
“He always did that for us, so now we have to do it for him. So we need to bring somebody in, someone has to pay for this,” said his brother. “Johnny deserves justice.”
Police confirmed that there was a video circulating on social media of the shooting. Investigators are looking for tips about the people seen in the video and the person who recorded it.
Please contact Detective Jennifer Hertzler at Jennifer.Hertzler@portlandoregon.gov 503-823-1040 or Detective Joseph Corona at Joseph.Corona@portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0508 if you have any information and reference case number 21-231670.