PORTLAND, Ore. -- At a gathering of police leaders, gang outreach workers and community volunteers on Friday morning, Raymond Grant's words were impossible to ignore.
"I got involved in gangs when I was 12. That's when I committed my first crime," Grant, 31, told the crowd a several dozen at the Portland Police Bureau North Precinct.
Grant is a former gang member who said he now wants to work with at-risk youth to persuade them to steer clear of gangs.
It was a choice he said he made after growing tired of "having to look over my shoulder."
"I've been shot," he said. "I got shot three times in 2008 and was actually dead. It took three people to revive me."
Grant's comments come at a time when gang violence is easily outpacing what police saw a year ago.
So far this year, there have been 24 gang violence calls in Portland. That's more than double the 10 calls police responded to at this time last year, according to officers.
On Tuesday night, the violence hit too close to home for police.
At around 11:20 p.m. investigators said known gang member, Quintrell Holiman fired at, and nearly struck, two officers near Southeast 82nd and Foster.
"It was a very shockingly close call," Captain Robert King said.
After firing at police, officers say 26-year-old Holiman ran into a nearby neighborhood where he turned the gun on himself.
Friday, Assistant Police Chief Kevin Modica said rumors that police shot Holiman were simply not true.
"I will say this and be very specific. We did not injure that unfortunate victim of that night's incidents," Modica said.
Friday night and through the weekend, officers will focus their efforts on stopping any potential gang-violence.
Grant says he wants to be part of the solution, by trying to convince kids to avoid the path that he left behind.
"I am better, I am glad to be here and I want to help," he said.
