PORTLAND, Ore. -- A major push to break the code of silence around gang violence in Portland isn't working, according to police.
Sergeant Don Livingston, who works in the Portland Police Bureau’s gang enforcement unit says of the nearly 200 shootings the unit investigated last year, without willing witnesses, they were lucky to solve 25 percent of them.
"There is fear of retaliation and fear of being outcast from their group of friends because they cooperated with police," he said.
Lucy Mashia finds this code of silence especially frustrating. Her son, L.J. Irving, was killed nearly 4 ½ years ago when he was trying to get his nephew out of a dangerous confrontation.
The 34-year-old father of three was shot four times in the back. Even though there were several witnesses to his murder, the killer has never been identified on record.
Mashia says her son was an innocent bystander.
"L.J. wasn't in a gang. I never thought I would get that knock on my door at 12 o'clock in the morning, somebody telling me that my son has been shot and that he is dead. Not my son," she said.
Mashia is part of a community group called Enough is Enough PDX. It encourages people to come forward and take a stand against deadly violence and to tell the truth about what they witness.
She knows it will take courage and a change in culture and she is not afraid to lead the way. Mashia and her daughter Shauncey have also set up a Go Fund Me account so they can offer a reward for information about L.J.'s killer.
Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in L.J.’s death. To submit a tip, click here.
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