PORTLAND — Police officers from across the city raced to a North Portland hospital late Monday night after a shooting elsewhere sent several victims there and a large, volatile crowd followed.
The shooting occurred after a group of people who had attended a funeral for a recent shooting victim met up at a McDonald’s Restaurant on Swan Island, according to police.
The shooting was reported at 9:47 p.m. in the 3100 block of North Going St. Four people were shot and showed up at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
Police called for what’s called a “Code O” about 10 p.m. — drawing officers from across the city to the hospital’s emergency department to intercede in a reported “gang fight,” according to police dispatch.
Dozens of police cars filled the parking lot as officers stood blocking the emergency department’s entry. All four victims are expected to survive, police said.
The “large crowd and emotional response to the shooting created a need for an increased response to restore order,” said police spokesman Lt. Greg Pashley.
The officers responded to “provide a presence and diffuse arguments and fights that sprang up,” he said. About an hour after the police response, officers were sent back to take regular calls, and police cleared from the hospital by 12:23 a.m., Pashley said.
Brian S. Terrett, director of Legacy Health’s communications, declined comment on the massive police presence at Legacy Emanuel. “It is our practice to refer all media calls to PPB about any law enforcement incidents or issues,” Terrett said by email.
Police have not said if any arrests were made or who was involved in the shooting. KOIN (6) reported that investigators found at least 50 bullets had been fired at the shooting scene on Swan Island.
The North Portland shooting comes as the city is struggling to respond to a significant spike in gang-related and retaliatory violence. Four people have been killed in separate shootings in the city since a week ago Sunday and the homicide count has reached 33.
Police are investigating whether Monday night’s shooting was in retaliation for last week’s brazen killing of 33-year-old Jalon Yoakum at Northeast Sandy Boulevard near 118th Avenue. Yoakum was the son of Twauna Hennessee and stepson of Pastor J.W. Matt Hennessee, an outspoken anti-gun violence activist.
This past weekend, FBI agents paired with Portland police to respond to shooting scenes after a spate of shootings marred recent vigils and funerals for gun violence victims.
FBI agents will continue to respond to suspected gang-related and retaliatory shootings going forward, Kieran L. Ramsey, the FBI special agent in charge in Oregon, said Monday.