PORTLAND, Ore. – There have been more gang violence incidents in Portland this year than any other year in recent memory.
With four months left in the 2015, Portland has already recorded 121 gang violence incidents, according to Sgt. Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau.
Simpson said the "overwhelming majority" of the incidents were shootings. A map of the incidents between January 1 and September 2 show that while gang activity was widespread across the east side of Portland, a significant number of incidents happened in a cluster around Northeast Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in the King, Humboldt and Piedmont neighborhoods.
The most gang incidents recorded in the past two decades was in 2012, with 118.
"While it is not possible to accurately compare 2015 to the mid-1990s, when gang violence was rampant in the City of Portland, we know that this year communities are experiencing gunfire on a regular basis," Simpson said.
There have been two gang-related homicides so far this year. Seattle resident D'Andre Dickerson was shot and killed in April in Northeast Portland. In July, 19-year-old Anthony Jackson, Jr. died after he was shot in Southeast Portland.
In addition, 26-year-old known gang member Quintrell Holiman killed himself following a police chase in February.
Portland police Sgt. Greg Stewart noted that the gang violence in Portland started early this year and has stayed fairly steady ever since. But he points out that despite the high number of incidents this year, Portland is still relatively safe.
"Portland is one of the safest big cities in America," he said in August. "If you look at our violent crime rate at other cities over 500,000, it is an incredibly safe city."
As KGW previously explored, experts cite multiple factors as to why people join gangs and there are myriad ways to combat it. One potentially impactful piece of legislation, which requires background checks for private gun sales, went into effect Aug. 9.
Sgt. Stewart said the police bureau has recovered a large number of weapons from suspected gang members this year. Officers are also working closely with the Office of Youth Violence Prevention to try and prevent more young people from joining gangs.
