PORTLAND, Oregon — A family is mourning the loss of a mother after another deadly shooting in Portland. Laura Guerrero-Rafaela, 41, was shot several times around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Southeast Portland's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood.
Family members said Guerrero-Rafaela was a loving mother of four who was also very involved in the lives of her nieces and nephews. She spoke on the phone to her sisters daily and even took care of one who was suffering from arthritis. Family members said Guerrero-Rafaela was also a bright and fun-loving person.
"She would always be the first one on the dance floor,” said Arleth Pacheco, her niece.
Guerrero-Rafaela treated her nieces and nephews like they were her own children, family members said. Pacheco said her aunt raised one of her nephews like her own son.
She said Guerrero-Rafaela used to talk about her death. She would urge her family members not to cry when she was gone.
“She just said it as like a joke but we never thought she was actually going to be taken from us in such a horrible way," Pacheco said.
Family members said Guerrero-Rafaela was shot four times. They said security footage shows a man shooting Guerrero-Rafaela three times in the back, before he stepped closer and shot the 41-year-old woman for a fourth time.
"All this family is hurt," said Raul Melgarejo, Guerrero-Rafaela’s stepfather.
Melgarejo said there needs to be justice for his stepdaughter’s death.
"This person that did this to her, they shouldn't be out there."
He said the family knows who shot Guerrero-Rafaela. But family members said police have told them they don’t have enough evidence yet to charge anyone.
"It's not fair to my family to know that the guy who killed her is still running around," Pacheco said.
There have been 50 homicides in Portland this year. Of that number, 43 have been shootings.