This Week in the Mercury

Film Shorts

Film

Film Shorts

In Which We Hit It and Quit It


Here's What You Missed

Music

Here's What You Missed

A Brief History of Cafeteria Dance Fever



  |  

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Crime More Info on Six Teens Shot in North Portland Last Night

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Sat, Sep 3, 2011 at 4:39 PM

Portland police and Mayor Sam Adams called a press conference this afternoon in North Portland to release more information about a tragic shooting that occurred last night and ask the public's help in preventing retaliatory violence.

A group of teenagers were hanging out on the front porch and yard of an abandoned house near the corner of North Albina and Jessup at 11:20 last night after attending a Jefferson High School football game. Suddenly, someone walking by opened fire on the group, shooting six of the teens ages 13 to 16, and running off. As of this afternoon, luckily, none of the victims are in life threatening condition.

Police described the incident as a "gang style" shooting and Assistant Police Chief Eric Hendricks says this is one of the worst incidents of gang violence this year in Portland. The shooting is not related to the football game or Jefferson High School, says Hendricks, except that some of the victims are students there.

Mayor Adams, dressed in shorts and loafers appropriate for Labor Day weekend (and his birthday, which is today), said the most important thing now is preventing future violence.

"The best way to stop inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation is to solve this crime," said Adams, noting that his recent changes to the city's gun laws were an effort to prevent shootings like this. The new rules set a 7 PM curfew for youths convicted of gun crimes.

The city has 10 paid outreach workers who do foot patrols of gang violence hot spots in Portland, including the area around Penninsula Park where the shooting occurred. The workers will be walking around the North Portland neighborhood this weekend, talking with neighbors and keeping their eyes out for potential violence. A volunteer group also regularly meets at Holladay Park on Friday and Saturday nights at 4:30 and 8:30 for a similar foot patrol.

"If there's any one thing that's going to slow down gang violence, it's working with the community," says Hendricks. "We'll be in contact with folks from the community, there's been a lot of folks from Northeast Portland walking the parks and streets."

So far in 2011, the city has seen 65 serious gang-related assaults, about on pace with the 94 incidents the city experienced last year. While that's a steep decline from the worst years of gang violence in Portland in the 1990s, gang issues persist in the city. The Portland police's official record of gang members is over 800 names long.

Police and the mayor are urging anyone who knows anything about this terrible shooting to talk with the detectives on the case. You can call 503-823-HELP or the detectives' cell phones at 503-793-2790.

 

Comments (8) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Paragraph four reads like a "flip-side of the coin" demonstration of why writing about newsworthy women's clothing is sexist.

Of course the deeper message is that societal expectations re: clothing are messed up.

While Adams putting on a somber suit could be only insincere pandering, it would still be a nice gesture. Even if the kids were only wounded. The mayor doesn't get a casual Saturday when Portland's as messed up as it is. Not even on his birthday.

Good catch Sarah Mirk!
Posted by sexmachinealpha on September 3, 2011 at 6:58 PM · Report
2
@PPB. I think the shooter was a black male.
Posted by _ on September 4, 2011 at 8:53 AM · Report
3
Who cares what he was wearing? Was this a fashion show as well?
Posted by Wubbles on September 4, 2011 at 12:15 PM · Report
4
Hey, at least his pants weren't unzipped/undone...
Posted by Never Alone on September 4, 2011 at 2:01 PM · Report
5
Re: Investigation...When my cousin was murdered in a drive-by shooting, his young cousin came forward to testify and was then in turn killed...

http://www.wwaytv3.com/victims_family_poli…

Do the Portland Police do anything to protect those that come forward?

Posted by faraway on September 5, 2011 at 8:28 AM · Report
6
Graham told those kids to get off his lawn. Next time I bet they listen.
Posted by Rosy on September 5, 2011 at 11:41 AM · Report
7
@Wubbles - I mentioned Adams' outfit for the reason Sexmachinealpha pointed out: This was an incident that caught a lot of people off guard on the holiday weekend, including the mayor. That he turned up on his birthday, on a long weekend when he clearly would have preferred lounging in loafers and taking a break, is worth noting.
Posted by s.mirk on September 6, 2011 at 12:04 PM · Report
8
teeniggers
Posted by Teenapers on September 6, 2011 at 2:20 PM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use