PORTLAND, Ore. — Shots were fired outside of Franklin High School in Southeast Portland on Saturday night as a basketball game happened inside the gym, according to police.
Officers found evidence of gunshots in the parking lot on the east side of the school. Portland police said a juvenile may have been grazed by a bullet and suffered a minor injury but he refused medical aid and did not go to the hospital.
A 15-year-old boy was detained and booked into a juvenile detention center in Northeast Portland facing a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm. Police said they found a semiautomatic handgun nearby. The teen also had an unrelated arrest warrant, they said.
No details have been released yet as to what led up to the shooting.
Inside the school's gym, the boys basketball teams for Cleveland High School and Roosevelt High School were playing in the fourth and last game of the day for the Portland Interscholastic League Showcase basketball tournament. The game was postponed indefinitely late in the first quarter and people cleared the gym.
Portland Public Schools district released a statement to KGW early Sunday afternoon regarding the incident.
"Saturday evening, we experienced another unfortunate incident of gun violence outside one of our schools," the statement read. "This senseless violence continues to impact our neighborhoods and school communities. We stand ready to partner with city elected leaders, law enforcement, and the community to address this ongoing crisis."
Witnesses and attendees of the game said police were searching vehicles and not letting people leave the parking lot immediately after the gym was cleared.
"My brain went into overdrive and I realized what was happening and I just started sprinting," said Albert Lee, who was at the game and said he heard what sounded like firecracker noises. "I've just never been so scared."
Police said an officer was working an "overtime detail" at Franklin High and heard gunshots just after 7:30 p.m. The officer radioed for help immediately, prompting a fast police response. The first responding officers were on scene within three minutes, Portland police said.
Officers are asking anyone with information to reach out with tips by emailing crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov.
This is at least the fourth shooting near a Portland high school in this 2022-2023 school year. In October, two students were hurt after a shooting near Jefferson High School in North Portland. Another teen was hurt in a separate drive-by shooting near that same school in November. Last month, a student was shot outside Cleveland High School in Southeast Portland.
After the most recent shooting at Cleveland High, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said that the bureau and Portland Public Schools were discussing the possibility of bringing back school resource officers. PPS removed them from all schools in June of 2020.