Portland Weekend Of Violence Leaves Three Dead, Eleven Wounded

PORTLAND, OR — Three dead. Eleven wounded. That was the toll of the three-day weekend in Portland.

In one incident a mother was killed while her 1-year-old and 5-year-old kids and a third person was wounded. That was on Sunday. Portland Police have not identified them or given any indication about what might have led to the shooting; whether the family was targeted or just in the wrong place.

The day before there was the mass shooting at Normandale Park where one woman was killed and five others were wounded – including the person that police say did most of the shooting, killing the woman.

Around the same time, two Porland Police officers responded to a call about a suspicious person at a condo in Southwest Portland and shot and killed a person. Police have so far not released any information about who was shot or the circumstances that led to the shooting.

These three shootings are just the latest in the more than 200 shootings that have taken place in the city this year so far. In 2020 there were only 89 shootings during the same period.

There have been 15 homicides in Portland so far this year, 14 of them were shootings.

On Tuesday, Mayor Wheeler had a virtual news conference where he was joined by other law enforcement leaders including Chuck Lovel, the Portland Police Chief.

"This was a deadly, difficult, and disturbing weekend for our city," Wheeler said. "I want to note—with deep sadness—the injuries and the terrible loss of life the collective Portland family has endured.

"I also want to convey my steadfast and urgent determination to find those responsible to justice and end this cycle of violence."

Wheeler and Lovell were questioned about their lack of public appearances until the news conference. They were also asked about the lack of information that's been released.

"I would rather we be accurate and provide good, solid information to the community with the benefit of collaboration with our law enforcement partners, rather than winging it," Wheeler said.

Lovell added that they don't "want to jeopardize any investigation that's going on at the same time."

Officials weren't able to provide answers about why, if providing accurate information is their key concern, they originally described the shooter on Saturday as a "homeowner" with no political affiliation.

It has since come out that he was not a homeowner and that he is someone who has moved to the extreme right.

"I hear the anger and the frustration and maybe more than anything else the fear that people are expressing and they need to know that their mayor takes this seriously, that I am prioritizing it, that I’m working with any partner who will work with me to address this," Wheeler said.