PORTLAND, Ore. — Police found a man shot to death early Friday morning in downtown Portland, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting around 2 a.m. Friday near Southwest 4th Avenue and Washington Street, a couple blocks northeast of Pioneer Courthouse Square. When they arrived at the scene, they found 39-year-old Jonathan Dunbar with a fatal gunshot wound. His death was ruled a homicide.
No arrests have been made and police reported no information about a suspect.
Oregon State University women's basketball player Bendu Yeaney identified Dunbar as her brother.
"My big brother Jonathan Dunbar also known as JD was shot 6 times and killed by a gunman in downtown Portland. He was an innocent soul who loved everyone who ever came around him. Everyone enjoyed his present [sic] and made everyone around him smile and laugh. He had a big personality that will truly be missed more than ever," Yeaney wrote in a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses.
The OSU women's basketball team tweeted in support of Yeaney following the news of her brother's death.
Police closed Southwest Washington Street between 2nd Avenue and 4th Avenue so homicide and forensic investigators could collect evidence. In a news release sent out shortly before 4 a.m., PPB said the road would be closed for several hours.
PPB asks that anyone with information about this man's death who hasn't already talked to police contact Detective Sean Macomber at sean.macomber@police.portlandoregon.gov or Detective Jason Koenig at jason.koenig@police.portlandoregon.gov. Reference case No. 22-269190.
"I really hope it stops," Brubaker said. "With all my heart I hope all this stops. It's scary."
Homicides on the rise in Portland
The city of Portland has grappled with an ongoing increase in violence over the past few years. There were 88 homicides in Portland in 2021, up from 57 in 2020 and 36 in 2019, according to a police dashboard that tracks neighborhood crime statistics. PPB reports there have been 72 homicides in the city this year, which puts Portland on pace to exceed last year's number of homicides.
"It's hard I'll tell you," Chief Chuck Lovell said. "For me just personally you're watching people in your city die. You're trying to solve that problem with the resources you have."
Here's a look at the number of homicides in Portland each year since 2016, according to the PPB dashboard:
- 2022: 72 (as of Oct. 6)
- 2021: 88
- 2020: 57
- 2019: 36
- 2018: 26
- 2017: 25
- 2016: 16