PORTLAND, Ore. — The mother of a man killed by gun violence almost six years ago is pleading for answers.
"Please, this is heartbreaking," said Taunya Mayo. "I can't sleep. Many nights I wake up and I'm crying."
Mayo's son, Dion Matthews Jr., was shot and killed on October 18, 2015. It happened in the parking lot behind Dante's Nightclub near SW 3rd and Burnside. Witnesses told police people ran and drove away from the scene. There have been no arrests in the case.
"I miss everything about my son," Mayo said. "This is something we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis."
Mayo worries that the gun violence plaguing Portland right now may keep detectives from solving her son's case.
"At times I do feel like it gets lost because they're overwhelmed in preventing other crimes and homicides taking place in Oregon," she said.
Just last weekend, Portland police reported 13 shootings in 28 hours from Friday night to Sunday morning. Gun violence continues to surge across the city and it has put Portland on pace to surpass its record for the deadliest year in modern history.
Portland's deadliest year was 1987 when 70 homicides were recorded across the city.
Mayo is asking anyone with information about her son's murder to contact the Portland Police Bureau.