PORTLAND, Ore. — Police have identified a man who died in a shooting Monday at a gas station in east Portland, marking the city's first homicide since the start of the year.
Officers were dispatched at 2:45 p.m. Monday on reports a person had been shot near the intersection of Northeast 102nd Avenue and Northeast Glisan Street off of I-205.
They arrived at the 76 gas station and found a man who had been shot. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died, police said. Police did not release any other details about the circumstances of the shooting.
The gas station was closed Tuesday. A display of flowers and candles blocked the front entrance. People gathered at the scene said the man killed was an employee known as Nacho.
"I've never had this ever happen to one of my close brothers slash friends," Josh Arney said. "I've never really had that happen so I'm really lost with it."
Police identified the victim Tuesday afternoon as 24-year-old Amado Santos, and said the medical examiner had confirmed his cause of death to be homicide by gunshot wound.
The incident comes after a period of more than three weeks in which Portland hadn't seen a single fatal shooting or homicide, in contrast to last year's deadly start — although there have been multiple shootings that left people injured.
There were four homicides in the first two weeks of 2022, and the city ultimately saw a total of 96 homicides last year, 78 of which were shooting deaths. It was the deadliest year in Portland's modern history, surpassing the previous record of 90 homicides in 2021.
The city's previous most recent homicide occurred on Dec. 21, and there were a total of 15 homicides in November and December, according to PPB Lieutenant Nathan Sheppard.
Asked about the subsequent lull, Sheppard said Portland typically sees fewer homicides during the winter months, so the high number of deaths in November and December was likely more of an outlier than the reduction in January.
"This was an unexpected spike," he wrote in an email. "Only time will tell if our homicide rate is trending down, and what factors may have contributed to the decline."
Anyone with information about Monday's shooting is asked to contact Detective Tony Harris at tony.harris@police.portlandoregon.gov or (503) 823-0441 or Detective Shaye Samora at shaye.samora@police.portlandoregon.gov or (503) 823-0768 and reference case number 23-14764.