PORTLAND, Oregon — Another Portland neighborhood became the city's latest scene of deadly gun violence Wednesday evening.
Police converged on Southeast 126th Avenue near the intersection with East Burnside Street just after 8p.m., following multiple calls reporting gunfire. Emergency dispatchers said they could hear gunfire in the background on more than one of the calls.
Witnesses in the vicinity gave a first-hand account of the violence.
"He pulled out basically multiple guns one after the other and emptied whatever clip or ammunition that he had," said Matthew McGill.
Other neighbors who spoke to KGW on Thursday said gunfire is not uncommon in that part of the city, but neighbor Rick Kallen said the gunfire on Wednesday seemed more random.
"This was like bang bang bang bang bang and it was hard to tell where it was coming from," he said.
Kallen said he and his wife soon realized the shooting was coming from a neighbor's property right across the street, and then an officer in armored response gear arrived their back door, asking to come inside to get a better view of the situation.
Kallen said the only thing he could see was the neighbor's young daughter, who he said is about five or six years old, out on the porch near her armed dad.
Taking cover, Kallen couldn't see. But he could hear.
"During the last round of shots, we heard the sound I’d become familiar with, the sort of banging sound. And then there was one really loud bang, and my car alarm went off. And when I looked out the front I saw officers removing the daughter from the scene and I could see somebody on the porch face down," he said.
The incident rattled Kallen and other neighbors, including a man living next to the home where the shootout occurred, who did not want KGW to use his name.
"His daughter was really nice, his wife was really nice when they were out, and it just blows my mind that possibly a neighbor got killed," he said.
The impact of guns and violence can be felt in this neighborhood and across Portland, where police have been sent rushing to call after call.
The past week has seen multiple other police shooting incidents including a domestic violence call for a 19-year-old with a gun that may have gone off in a scuffle with officers. An officer then shot and killed him.
In another case in North Portland, an officer fired on a suspect fleeing in a truck, who police said tried to run the officer down. That suspect got away.
In the heat of summer, it's never been worse, according to Portland Police Bureau North Precinct Commander Tina Jones. She asked for community support of officers she said are overburdened and frustrated.
"We are in uncharted waters and it's so scary; each and every day it just feels like our team is going out and doing the best they can to handle the emergency calls for service that keep piling in (and) they're trying to stay safe," she said.
Back in the Hazelwood Neighborhood, residents like Dotti Williams said they too are tired of the violence.
"Having guns is not the answer to your problems, I don't like guns anyway, I don't like people shooting at each other, I don't like none of that, violence at all really," she said.