WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — Five people inside a vehicle avoided serious injury after a suspect or suspects fired multiple shots into their vehicle while they were driving on Highway 26, about five miles northwest of Aloha, on Wednesday night, the Hillsboro Police Department (HPD) reported.
Officers responded to a call at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday that shots had been fired on Highway 26 near Cornelius Pass Road. The victims reported to police that a silver SUV drove up next to them and fired multiple shots into their vehicle. There were five people inside the victim vehicle, police said. None were shot and all five avoided serious injury, though some were hit by broken glass.
The vehicle had multiple bullet holes, HPD said. The suspect or suspects fled the scene after the shooting. "We do have strong leads on the suspect and vehicle, which we are actively working," HPD Sergeant Clint Chrz told KGW.
Police said they don't believe the public is at risk.
Wednesday's shooting happened in Washington County, a little more than 10 miles outside of Portland, west of the city. Portland and many of its surrounding areas have seen a surge in gun violence the past couple years.
In the city of Portland, there were more than 1,300 shootings last year, compared with about 400 in 2019 and 900 in 2020. Through just the first two months of 2022, there were nearly 250 shootings in the city of Portland, according to PPB's shooting incidents dashboard. In many cases, including homicides, there have been no arrests.
