PORTLAND, Ore. — The director of a North Portland daycare is asking police to patrol the neighborhood more often after hearing a shooting down the street from the school.
Arc en Ciel Montessori French Immersion School opened its location near Dawson Park in May 2020. Director Dannielle Herman was ecstatic about the possibilities.
"There are some beautiful aspects to what's going on in this community outside of these pockets that are unsettling and terrifying," Herman said.
Herman points to what happened as kids were arriving at school Thursday morning. There was gunfire near North Williams Avenue and Graham Street, just two blocks over from the school.
"Memory is not the best but it sounded like 10 quick bang, bang, bang, and then nothing and a car speeding off," she said.
The shooting is just one of more than 900 shootings in Portland this year, but it stands out to Herman. She watched as one dad in particular rushed inside the school with his son in his arms.
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"Seeing another parent with that fear in their eyes is difficult to process," Herman said.
Perhaps that is because Herman is not only the director of the school, but also a parent to two kids who go there.
Herman has since called police to request extra patrols throughout the day.
"There isn't a lot of extra time to do that extra patrol," Sgt. Kevin Allen of PPB said. "Sometimes the best we can do is say we'll try to drive through more often but as you know a police car driving through a neighborhood isn't going to fix the problem."
Maybe it will not, but it would go a long way if you ask Herman, who is tasked with keeping safe more than three dozen kids and staff at Arc en Ciel.
"I don't know what this was regarding or if there's retaliation," Herman said. "I don't know how any of that works. I don't want to make assumptions based on TV so I'll keep everyone inside the rest of this week."
Authorities confirmed to KGW that officers responded to the shots fired call on North Williams. They did not find evidence of gunfire, but that is not necessarily unusual since not all guns leave behind shell casings. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Portland Police Bureau.