PORTLAND, Ore. — It was a violent weekend in Portland, with officers responding to three homicides and seven other shootings, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported Monday morning.
PPB said officers were stretched so thin over the weekend, they were unable to respond to multiple illegal street racing "takeovers" across the city, some of which impacted their ability to reach areas where people were shot. Other lower-priority calls did not get a prompt response, either, police said.
SATURDAY
Woman killed in SE Portland: On Saturday at 7:01 a.m., police responded to a disturbance call in the area of Southeast 92nd Avenue, slightly north of Powell Boulevard. When officers arrived, they found a woman who'd been killed. On Tuesday, police identified the victim as Rachael Angel Abraham. She was 36 years old. The medical examiner said Abraham's manner and cause of death was homicide by manual strangulation.
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Officers arrested 33-year-old Mohamed Osman Adan. He was booked into the Multnomah County jail and faces charges of second-degree murder (domestic violence) and unlawful use of a weapon.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457 or rico.beniga@police.portlandoregon.gov or Detective Erik Kammerer at erik.kammerer@police.portlandoregon.gov.
SUNDAY
Two people injured near street-racing event in North Portland: At 12:59 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to North Going Street and Basin Avenue on reports that a person had been shot. As the PPB helicopter flew over the area, police said they saw what appeared to be "speed racers" driving away. Two people showed up at a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said, and officers made two arrests, of 18-year-old Twana Osman and a 17-year-old juvenile.
Two shot in SE Portland: A man and a woman were shot around 9:20 p.m. Sunday at Southeast 122nd Avenue and East Burnside Street. The woman's injuries weren't life-threatening and she was taken to the hospital. The man was also taken to the hospital with what police described as a "trauma injury." The victims weren't identified, no arrests were made and police shared no suspect information. Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact PPB at crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and reference Case No. 22-232225.
Man shot and killed in SE Portland: At 9:32 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of a shooting on Southeast 148th Avenue between Stark Street and Alder Court. They found a man who'd been shot and killed. On Tuesday, PPB identified the victim as Stephenic Hall. He was 54 years old. The medical examiner said the manner and cause of death was homicide by gunshot wound. No arrests have been made and PPB didn't report any suspect information. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Jason Koenig at jason.koenig@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0889 or Detective Michael Greenlee at michael.greenlee@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0871. Reference Case No. 22-232231.
Multiple people shot in North Portland: At 10:48 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to North Expo Road and West Delta Park, near where I-5 crosses over Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, after a person called in to report they'd been shot. Police said hundreds of people and cars were in the area, part of an illegal street-racing event, and that made it "difficult for officers to respond and investigate the shooting."
When they did arrive, they found a man who'd been shot. He's expected to survive, police said. There were two other shooting victims from the incident, police said. One was taken to a hospital in Washington state, and is expected to survive. Police said the other was driven south in a personal vehicle and the information on that person's gunshot wounds is unknown. None of the victims have been identified, no arrests have been made and no suspect information was provided by police.
Man shot and killed in NE Portland: At 10:57 p.m. Sunday, officers responding to an overdose call at Northeast Broadway, between Williams Avenue and Victoria Avenue, found a man at the scene who'd been shot and killed. Police identified the victim on Wednesday as 20-year-old Cameron Taylor, and said the medical examiner had confirmed his cause and manner of death to be homicide by gunshot wound.
Police made no arrests and reported no suspect information. Anyone with information should contact Detective Jennifer Hertzler at jennifer.hertzler@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-1040 or Detective Rico Beniga at rico.beniga@police.portlandoregon.gov. Reference Case No. 22-232298.
MONDAY
Woman held at gunpoint in SE Portland escapes: At 3:11 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a gas station in the area of Southeast Grand Avenue and Washington Street on a report that a ride-share driver had been assaulted by a customer.
"He told me to drive or he was going to kill me," the victim told KGW.
She said she convinced the suspect she needed gas, and when she pulled into the gas station she was able to escape.
"I sat and I thought, 'How am I going to make it out of this situation to I can make it home to my kids?'" said the victim.
The suspect got out of the car and ran away on foot and police said he fired a single shot, most likely into the air, as he fled.
Police also reported several other calls that officers responded to:
- At 3:03 a.m. Sunday, a woman fired a gun near Northeast Glisan Street and 99th Avenue, left the area, returned in her car and yelled at police before walking into an apartment.
- At 3:23 a.m. Sunday, a man told police he was shot by a person while he was "dumpster diving" near North Force Avenue and Marine Drive. He refused transport to the hospital.
- At 3:55 a.m., a woman was shot in the leg inside a car outside a residence on Southeast Powell Boulevard between 148th Avenue and 150th Avenue. Officers applied a tourniquet to the victim's leg and took her to an ambulance. Two men and two women inside the residence were detained.
Portland has seen a sharp rise in homicides and non-fatal shootings over the past three years. Last year, Portland logged a record 88 homicides, more than three times its historical average, and is on pace to top that number, with 61 homicides this year, Portland police reported Monday, including 54 shooting homicides.
A recent analysis conducted by the firm California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC), examined both homicides and non-fatal shootings in Portland from 2019 through 2021.
Over those three years, the analysis found, Portland saw a 144% increase in its homicide count and a 241% increase in non-fatal shootings that resulted in injury. The number of non-fatal shootings have followed a linear upward progression, adding about 100 additional instances each year since 2019. The city has seen 875 shootings this year, with 271 people injured in those shootings, Portland police reported Monday.
That report's data showed that 2019 marked a clear dividing line for when the spike began. Before that year, Portland continually remained below a 20-year average of 28 homicides per year, with 2004 marking the only prior exception, when there were 29 homicides. But Portland shot up to 36 homicides in 2019, 57 in 2020 and 88 in 2021.