Tense hospital scene after shooting increases alarm over Portland’s gun violence ‘crisis’
Updated 8:36 PM;
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A flood of Portland police cars responded late Monday to break up a report of a gang fight at the doors to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center’s emergency department, where four people with gunshot wounds had just arrived.
The scene was reminiscent of scenarios two decades ago when officers, street outreach workers and pastors routinely headed to the hospital to cool tensions between rival gangs.
Those days are back, say police, former gang members and community leaders.
The city is on track to shatter its record annual homicide count of 70 in 1987. So far this year, 33 people have died in homicides and about 130 have been wounded in more than 400 shootings. Four people have been killed in the city since a week ago Sunday.
25 Apr 2021
Black Lives Matter and Antifa spoke out against Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s call to ‘unmask’ violent protesters. Hours after the mayor’s comments, another riot broke out in the city.
“We must stand together as a community against this ongoing criminal intimidation and violence,” Mayor Wheeler said on Friday. “Our job is to unmask them, arrest them, and prosecute them.”
“People know who these criminals are,” Wheeler continued.
A few hours later, violence broke out again in Portland following a social media post calling for demonstrators to “Bloc Up,” a reference to the Antifa “uniform” of all black clothing, masks, and helmets, Breitbart News reported.
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