Three men were killed and one woman was injured over the weekend in two different shootings in Portland.
Police have not made any arrests in either shooting as of Monday. It’s one of the deadliest weekends this year since three people, including two teenagers, were shot and killed in North Portland near University Park in March.
On Friday, a resident of Northwest Portland, Stephen Caldwell, drove by Northwest 17th Avenue and Irving Street around 11:20 p.m. and saw a man slumped over the steering wheel of a car. Police responded as Caldwell was pulling into his home across the street, he said.
Caldwell said he watched police and paramedics try to help the man, but he died at the scene, police said Saturday.
“In the last six months, things have gotten rough out here,” Caldwell told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Family members identified the victim as 55-year-old James Rogers Jr. of Portland, as first reported by KGW.
An unidentified woman also was injured in the shooting, but she is expected to survive, police said.
Investigators ask anyone with information on Friday’s shooting to contact Detective Erik Kammerer (Erik.Kammerer@police.portlandoregon.gov, 503-823-0762) or Detective Mike Schmerber (Michael.Schmerber@police.portlandoregon.gov, 503-823-0991) and reference case number 23-110484.
TWO DEAD IN CENTENNIAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Less than 36 hours later, two men were shot and killed early Sunday morning in Southeast Portland.
The first man was found near the 16600 block of Southeast Naegeli Drive around 3:15 a.m. It’s unclear where the shooting took place; residents in the area said they did not hear any gunfire near them.
Another body was found about five blocks away at the Township Eastside apartment complex. Residents there told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the person who died lived with his family in the complex.
Township sent an email to residents acknowledging the shooting.
Araceli Reyes, who lives in one of the buildings near where the killing occurred, said she heard people hanging out in the detached garages next door around 11:30 p.m. She said it was normal, and that a group of people often used the space to work on cars.
Reyes said the people were loud through the night, keeping her and her husband up. Around 3 a.m. she heard seven to eight gunshots. The gunfire left one man dead. She said the victim was around 25 years old, but she did not know his name.
Reyes said there are occasional break-ins in the area but that shootings have been rare during her four years in the neighborhood.
“It’s scary,” she said.
If ruled homicides, the three men’s deaths over the weekend would mark the 26th, 27th and 28th such killings so far this year, compared with 35 at this time last year.
Investigators ask anyone with information on the shooting to contact Detective Brad Clifton at Brad.Clifton@police.portlandoregon.gov, 503-823-0696 or Detective Tony Harris at tony.harris@police.portlandoregon.gov, (503)823-0441 and reference case number 23-111647.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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