A security guard shot a man at Pioneer Courthouse Monday morning after the guard allegedly was assaulted, according to the Portland Police Bureau and an eyewitness.
Officers from the bureau’s Central Precinct responded to reports of a Federal Court Security Officer employed by the U.S. Marshals Service firing a weapon at an individual at Pioneer Courthouse around 6:30 a.m, police said. Officer David Baer, a Portland police spokesperson, said the man sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital after initial responders provided trauma first aid.
The security guard was also taken to a hospital for injuries “related to an assault,” police said.
The police bureau has not confirmed that the shooting occurred inside the historic federal courthouse, which was built in the 1870s. Yellow plastic evidence markers and articles of clothing littered the front steps of the courthouse Monday morning as police investigated.
A man with the Portland Police Bureau photographs evidence related to the shooting on the steps of the historic Pioneer Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023.
Portland resident Damon Nightwolf, 30, said he heard yelling coming from inside the courthouse as he walked through the intersection of Southwest 6th Avenue and Yamhill Street early Monday morning. Nightwolf said he did not see anything occurring outside the building so he suspected the yelling came from just inside the front doors.
“There was a guy in the courthouse causing problems, I think,” Nightwolf said. “He was just going ballistic.”
Nightwolf said that a few moments later, as he reached the west end of Pioneer Courthouse Square, he heard a single gunshot. He looked to the courthouse again and saw a uniformed security guard step outside, Nightwolf said.
“Then I saw the cops pull up and start to tape everything off,” Nightwolf said.
Southwest 6th Avenue between Morrison and Yamhill streets, and the majority of Pioneer Courthouse Square, remain closed as the investigation into the shooting continues. Pioneer Courthouse is also closed for the day, Baer said.
Baer said the investigation is being treated as an officer-involved shooting, and the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are assisting with the investigation. More than a dozen law-enforcement vehicles were in and around Pioneer Courthouse Square as the investigation got underway Monday.
— Nick Gibson; ngibson@oregonian.com; 971-393-8259; @newsynicholas
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