PORTLAND, Ore. — One person was killed and at least two other people were injured following a shooting Friday night in Portland's Old Town entertainment district.
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) identified the victim who died on Monday as 19-year-old Lauren Teyshawn Abbott, Jr. The medical examiner said the manner and cause of death was homicide by gunshot wound.
Officers responded at 9:31 p.m. Friday to the area of Northwest Couch Street and 5th Avenue and found two victims who appeared to have been shot, PPB reported. One was taken to the hospital but later pronounced dead, while the other was treated at the scene.
Soon after, police said a third person injured in the shooting arrived at a local hospital, transported privately, with life-threatening injuries.
Several blocks of the area around West Burnside Street between Northwest 4th and 5th avenues were closed late Friday and early Saturday morning while homicide and crime scene investigators worked the scene.
Police said Friday night in a statement that they didn't believe there was an ongoing threat to the public.
News of the shooting came as no surprise to people who live and work in the area. Josh Drennan is a hairstylist and barber at Bridgetown Barber Society on Northwest 5th Avenue. He said that there was another shooting nearby just a couple of days ago.
"You can still see there’s a bullet hole over there, going into the storefront, which seems to be commonplace these days," Drennan said.
Jordan Cardenas works at Deadstock Coffee on Northwest Couch Street. He remembers another shooting incident in Old Town a few weeks back.
"There were a bunch of stray bullets and two of them broke our window on the right side," Cardenas said. "Both of them hit our fridge on the side and that was pretty tough, because where they shot is where our heads are at usually.”
Portland's Old Town neighborhood has been the site of several shootings and altercations in recent months, often late at night when large crowds gather at local nightclubs and bars. Private security has increased in the area, and business leaders have rallied to press the city for more action to address neighborhood concerns.
In late June, a shooting in Old Town caused panic at a nearby nightclub where people were gathered to celebrate Pride Month — dredging up terrifying memories of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. After responding, police said that the June shooting injured one juvenile in a vehicle and the nightclub did not appear to be a target.
Police said Friday's deadly shooting marks the 47th homicide by gunfire this year. They asked that anyone with information about the shooting contact Detective Shaye Samora at Shaye.Samora@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Tony Harris at Anthony.Harris@portlandoregon.gov.
Portland police also responded to a reported shooting near Southeast Holgate and Southeast 122nd around the same time on Friday night. One man was shot and taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to a police spokesman. A second man appeared at the hospital with gunshot wounds, which police believe is related to this shooting.
Officers from PPB's gun violence teams responded to the scene of the Southeast Holgate shooting to aid in the investigation.