PORTLAND, Ore. — A man was caught on surveillance video shooting out an intersection camera that tracks red light and speeding violations late last month in Southeast Portland. Police said it's one in a string of similar crimes over the past two weeks.
READ MORE: Crime reports from KGW News
The incident happened Monday, May 27 at 5:10 a.m. Video released by police shows the man, who was driving a black- or charcoal-colored Subaru WRX with no license plate, pull over past the intersection at Southeast Washington Street and 103rd Avenue, step out of the vehicle and fire three shots at the intersection's traffic camera.
A KGW photographer visited the scene Thursday and found evidence of the shooting, including shattered glass on the front of the camera.
Nick McCullough, who has lived in the area for about six months, said he thought it was an aggressive way for someone to express their displeasure with the traffic camera ticketing system.
"That's pretty aggressive, and that's probably somebody that got a ticket because of that and is a little bit angry," he said. "I would rather them get angry at an inanimate object and blow it up than any individual, for sure."
The man seen in the video is wearing a blue jacket, black pants and glasses. He pulls over shortly past the intersection and turns on the hazard lights before jogging back to the intersection to shoot three times at the camera.
Police said they believe the same man has shot at city equipment at least seven times since May 27, though they didn't reveal what equipment was damaged.
"Detectives are not only concerned about the significant damage caused, but also the extreme risk of firing a handgun in our neighborhoods," PPB said in a news release.
No injuries have been reported.
"When you fire a gun inside a neighborhood, we all know that tragedies can take place," said PPB Sergeant Kevin Allen. "It's also not a matter of he's smashing up property with a rock or something; we're talking about a gun here. He's firing a gun in our community, in our neighborhood, and one errant round can cause tragedy," continued Allen.
A KGW reporter found similar damage at a traffic camera on Southeast Stark Street and 102nd Avenue, only one block away from the first reported damaged camera; however, police have yet to disclose if the two are related.
Portland police said they're not releasing any other information regarding the type of city property being damaged or destroyed by the individual due to "investigative reasons."
If anyone has information about this suspect or the vehicle involved, please e-mail crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, attn: Property Crimes Unit and reference case number 24-134019.