PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two people died and multiple people were injured in four different early morning shootings Saturday in Portland, Oregon, a city that has seen gun violence and associated homicide rates soar in the past six months.
Mayor Ted Wheeler called the rash of shootings a "pandemic" and said he would push hard for more officers and resources for the Portland Police Bureau, which has lost 125 sworn officers in the past year.
Portland has had 570 shootings so far this year.
That's more than twice the number in the same period in 2020.
According to the Associated Press, police said half the shootings are gang-related.
Chief Chuck Lovell said it was too early in the investigation to say if Saturday's shooting was gang-related, the AP reported.
Police said Saturday's shooting occurred just after 2 a.m. on in a popular pedestrian area in downtown Portland where pods of food trucks are located.
Police said an 18-year-old woman was one of the victims shot who later died at a local hospital.
