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3 people shot inside NE Portland bar, 1 in critical condition

People inside the bar tackled the suspect and tried to hold him down until police arrived. But he was able to get away before officers got there.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Three people were shot inside a bar in Northeast Portland on Thursday night, and one of the victims, a man, is in critical condition, police said.

The suspect remains at large. Before police arrived, people inside the bar tackled the suspect and tried to hold him down until officers arrived. But he was able to escape before police got there. Police said they won't release any information about who they are looking for, only that investigators have leads to follow up on.

The shooting happened at 10:01 p.m. at the Venture Inn bar, located on Northeast 141st Avenue and Sandy Boulevard in the Argay neighborhood. When officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot in the chest, another man who had been shot in the upper leg and a woman who had been shot in the hip. Officers applied first aid, including at least one tourniquet, to the victims until paramedics arrived and took over.

"Early information is there was some kind of disturbance beforehand." said Sgt. Kevin Allen with the Portland Police Bureau. "I don't know if there was any prior communication or prior knowledge with the people that were involved. Certainly there were a lot of leads that investigators want to follow up on."

RELATED: Gun violence is surging in Portland. What can be done to stop it?

During the scuffle with the suspect, one of the people in the bar was able to wrestle the gun away from the suspect. The gun was handed over to police and it has been placed in evidence.

The Portland Police Bureau's Enhanced Community Safety Team is investigating the shooting.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to e-mail crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 21-201085.

Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers cash rewards of up to $2,500 cash for information that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Report a tip online here.

RELATED: How Portland gun violence compares to other cities

On Friday, Portland police said there have been 651 shooting incidents in Portland this year. Through the end of July 2020, there were 365 shooting incidents and in 2019, there were 222 shooting incidents through the end of July. See the Portland Police Bureau's data on shooting incidents.

The rise in gun violence is concerning to both police and gun crime reduction advocates.

"I think it's been building for many years. Our country has been plagued with an easy access to guns." said Hilary Uhlig with the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense America, a national grassroots organization that started after the Sandy Hook shooting.

"It's certainly tragic and scary for people. I think it has heightened the level of fear and the level of reluctance for people to return to entertainment in downtown Portland. There's just that extra level of hesitancy and no one wants to live in fear," Uhlig said.

"It's hugely concerning that we're seeing all this gun violence. Almost nobody is closer to the front lines of this problem than the police officers responding," said Sgt. Allen. He says there is no single fix for gun violence, citing how diverse each situation is. "Just having the police respond to it, just having the police investigate it is not going to solve the problem. We need to have a larger community response and we're happy to work with the city and our community groups to work to try and address it, it's not an easy fix."

Of the 651 shootings in 2021, 215 have resulted in injuries.

RELATED: Portland police, FBI to increase presence downtown this weekend

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