PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland family is offering $10,000 of their own money as a reward for tips that could solve a 2015 murder case.
In October, 45-year-old Maurice Gatson was shot and killed outside the Pallas Club on Southeast Powell Boulevard.
Everyone scattered and no one has been arrested.
It's an unusual move. Crime Stoppers offers $1,000-$2,500 for information leading to an arrest. But LaShaunda Gatson, Maurice's wife, is pulling out the $10,000 from her and her childrens' savings account in hopes to more quickly find his killer.
"When he was home, it was about family," Gatson said Tuesday at her Southeast Portland home. "It wasn't about whatever took place out there on the streets."
During their 10 years together, Gatson said she didn't ask and they didn't talk about her husband's gang affiliation. She says Maurice never brought it home, to save his two kids.
"I thank him for not exposing our family to that lifestyle," she said.
But now that he's suddenly gone, she wishes she had spoken up; told him to quit.
"I don't want my son to think that whatever lifestyle his dad did have, that was a lifestyle for him."
She's hoping this kind of reward gets someone to come forward.
"What I would like for them to know is, what if it was you? What if it was you?," Gatson said.
The number of gang-related violence incidents in Portland last year was the highest in the last decade and a half. There were 193 instances, mostly shootings, according to Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Gatson's son, 7-year-old Maurice Jr., has started going to the free Dougy Center in Southeast Portland.
The non-profit victim assistance center counsels hundreds of kids ever year who have lost a loved one.
Director Dr. Donna Schuurman said families who are victims of gang violence often get stereotyped in the community. She said there's a perspective that bad things happen because they're bad people, but often their child has only ever known them as "dad."
"No matter how you look at it, the children are the victims and they don't get the same support as other kids who've had people die in other ways get," Dr. Schuurman said.
Gatson has pencil drawings her husband loved to sketch, as reminders of his compassion and talent. Now, she just wants closure for her son, and 14-year-old daughter.
"If he's willing to talk about it and talk about his dad, then he's going to be all right," she said.
Portland Police said larger rewards, such as Gatson's $10,000, do bring in more tips. They're hoping it will entice someone to pick up the phone and call police.
Top local headlines:
Keep up with the latest news in Portland and beyond. Tap to get our free KGW News app!