Regarding Saturday’s post about Friday night’s chaos downtown today comes confirmation from Portland police it involved two separate stabbings, one of them a slashing for good measure following a bullet to the torso. That victim survived. A second man was spotted staggering along by a passing ambulance around the corner from the taped-off crime scene involving the first event. He later died:
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Police Bureau has launched a homicide investigation after a presumed stabbing victim died in a hospital Saturday.
An ambulance passing through downtown Portland spotted the victim just before 1 a.m. at the intersection of SW Pine Street and SW 3rd Avenue. Crews said the man was seriously wounded. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died, according to PPB.
“Preliminary information indicates the victim may have been stabbed,” PPB homicide detectives said Saturday morning. “An autopsy will be scheduled for a later time to determine the cause and manner of death.”
No suspect information was immediately available and the investigation remains open, police said.
“No suspect information” is a phrase of increasing frequency.
The violence came on the very night the city increased police patrols downtown, including FBI agents invited by Mayor Wheeler–who suggested they might look for applicable federal charges, in an apparent attempt to work around antifa ally District Attorney Mike Schmidt. The police presence was deliberately conspicuous, but people seemed to hardly notice and the police not clearly briefed:
Around 11 pm, five Portland Police officers stood in a circle at the corner of Northwest 3rd Avenue and Couch Street. Their demeanor was more formal and wary than the congenial parade-police approach PPB used to reflect on weekend club shifts.
Asked if they have seen FBI officers that evening, one replied, “We read that too.” They hadn’t seen or heard of the promised assistance…
Outside Kelly’s Olympian, police strung caution tape and blocked the street at each end with a total of seven squad cars. But the officers moved one of their squad cars to let a couple who parked on the street back out.
“Back the blue!” a man yelled, stumbling past and walking in the road. “We need more of you!” Then, as he receded, he added: “Portland is a shithole! Portland looks like shit!”
An officer at the scene said there was a shooting at the bar, but he couldn’t give out more details. On Saturday, a police spokesman confirmed that a shooting occurred, sparked by a “verbal altercation” on the corner of Southwest 5th Avenue and Washington Street.
“The suspect produced a gun and shot the victim in the lower torso,” Sgt. Kevin Allen told WW. “He then produced a knife and sliced the victim on the shoulder. The victim was seriously wounded and transported to the hospital by ambulance. Doctors have stabilized him and his injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The suspect ran off before police were called.”
It’s possible one perpetrator is responsible for both stabbings.
untethered 