Nine people were shot over an unusually hot weekend in Portland, and one of those injured later died while receiving medical treatment, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
The series of shootings began after 10 p.m. Saturday in the Sunnyside neighborhood, where one person suffered injuries that were not life threatening. That person turned up at a hospital seeking care and did not say where the shooting happened. Police later found evidence of the crime in the 3300 block of Southeast Belmont Street.
Just after midnight Sunday, police responded to a report of a shooting at a bar in the 1400 block of Northeast Broadway. One man and two women received medical treatment at the scene for gunshots, and were taken to hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening.
A few hours after that, around 3:28 a.m. Sunday, a man turned up at a hospital with a gunshot wound and refused to say what had happened. Portland police said they eventually located a possible crime scene in the the Lents neighborhood around the 8600 block of Southeast Foster Road.
Around 3:34 a.m., police responded to the 6500 block of Northeast Killingsworth Street and found three people injured by gunfire. Two had minor injuries, but the third person later died from the wounds after being taken to the hospital.
The final shooting took place around 5:30 a.m. Sunday in the Hazelwood neighborhood. Police said they found a man near the 170 block of Southeast 146th Avenue who had been shot in the neck while inside his apartment. The person declined a trip to the hospital after being evaluated by paramedics on the scene.
Portland police did not make any arrests in the shootings and did not say if any of the violence was connected. Investigators are seeking any information or videos of the shootings, which can be sent to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov.
The bureau considers all shootings against people to be attempted murder, and Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to arrests in any felony crimes.
Gun crimes and homicides in Portland climbed significantly over the course of the pandemic, with the city setting records for killings in 2021 and 2022.
“While this was a busy shift, it is by no means unique,” Portland police said in a written statement.
Still, Portland has recently seen a slight decline in gun violence, slowly trailing a similar national trend. The Portland Police Bureau said so far this year it has recorded 382 shootings and 120 people hurt or killed by gunfire, not including suicides. Last year at this point, the city had recorded 528 shootings with 166 people hurt or killed.
Homicides are also slightly trailing last year. So far, 34 people have been killed in Portland this year compared to 37 in 2022.
A recent analysis of preliminary FBI crime data showed overall violent crime is also trending downward in Oregon after spiking during the pandemic.