PORTLAND, Ore. — Police are investigating a Monday evening shooting at North Portland's Columbia Park that left one person injured and saw multiple nearby houses hit by stray gunfire. Neighbors who spoke to KGW described dropping to the floor and hiding in their homes as they heard about 30-50 shots go off nearby.
"We were having dinner and a few gunshots rang out, and then it was absolutely terrifying. We got to the floor and then about 30 more rang out," said Jocelyn Hayward, who lives nearby.
Hayward said she and her family crawled to the back of their house and hid behind their washer and dryer, hoping there would be enough walls and objects in the way to stop any stray bullets that came toward them. At that point they began calling 911.
"It honestly sounded like I would envision a war zone, like you wouldn’t know where to take cover," she said.
Another nearby resident, Tom Bucceri, recalled similarly diving to the floor in his house in case any bullets came through the window. Another man, Charles, said he and his wife were out walking at the time and ended up hiding behind a tree while what sounded like 40 shots rang out over the course of about 30 seconds.
Police were called to North Woolsey Avenue on the west side of the park at around 7:30 p.m. on a report of a shooting, according to Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Public Information Manager Mike Benner. The officers found shell casings in several places around the area and saw that multiple homes and vehicles had been hit.
"There was a significant amount of shell casing recovered, like enough to shock the conscience," said PPB Lt. Israel Hill.
The officers also learned that two victims had walked to a nearby hospital. One had injuries from the shooting that were not life-threatening, and the other had minor injuries apparently stemming from a fall rather than directly from the shooting, according to Benner. PPB's Enhanced Community Safety Team responded to the scene to take over the investigation.
Another neighbor, Tracy, said the shooting began outside her house and then appeared to move down the block. She said police cars remained parked on the street with lights flashing until at least 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Hill later said PPB had confirmed that at least 50 rounds were fired during the incident and at least 3-5 houses had been hit, although there could still be more. The shooting victim is still in the hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, and police believe there could be additional victims.
The shooting broke out while some sort of gathering was taking place at the park, Hill said, and it involved multiple guns including a semi-automatic handgun, but police don't yet know more about the circumstances of the incident.
"I'm not sure if the gathering took place and there was a confrontation that took place within the gathering, or if there was somebody that observed people in the park and opened fire, that is what I'm not sure of," he said.
There have been no arrests so far, Benner said, but Hill added that PPB is prioritizing the investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact police. The shooting is believed to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing risk to the community.