The sound of gunfire is becoming increasingly familiar across Portland as shootings and homicides reach new records not seen since 1987, with no sign of slowing down, as two people died in a shooting on Sunday.
Portland Police Bureau (PPB) arrested a 45-year-old man on murder charges in connection to the deaths of two people in an apartment in the Old Town neighborhood early Sunday morning.
PPB did not immediately release details on the events leading up to the shooting, but it did specify that the two casualties are expected to be the 71st and 72nd homicides of 2021 in Portland.
Michael S. VanDomelen, of Portland, was charged and booked in the Multnomah County Detention Center on two counts of first-degree murder.
Around 6:25 a.m., local authorities responded to reports of shots being fired inside an apartment complex in the area. Once they had arrived, police found two victims who were already pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Police detained the suspect, VanDomelen, Sunday morning. The victims, a man and a woman, will be identified at a later time after the Oregon State Medical Examiner confirms their names and contacts their families.
The shooting is just one of many others as Portland's police department is struggling to keep up with local crime amid an acute staffing shortage and budget cuts following calls to 'defund the police' - city leaders slashed $27 million from the police budget in 2020, and crime is showing no sign of slowing down.
Portland has seen a surge in gun violence during the coronavirus pandemic, with 2021 reaching historic levels of people killed (71), expecting to top a 1987 stat. In a pre-pandemic era (2019), the amount of homicides was half the amount (36) as there are in the city today.
Portland has also been rocked by violent protests, including a 100-person protest on October 12 that caused $500,000 in damage (pictured)
Last Tuesday, at least 100 self-proclaimed anarchists tore through the city, setting dumpsters aflame, smashing windows and causing $500,000 in damage. Police say 35 separate locations were targeted as the force stood idle due to a new state law that restricts how law enforcement can respond to riots.
At the same time, Oregon's largest city is also implementing novel solutions aimed at improving safety, including adding traffic barrels to prevent drive-by shootings and suspending minor traffic stops so officers can focus on immediate threats.
So far this year, Portland has had about 1,000 shootings, 314 people have been injured by bullets, and firearms have accounted for three-quarters of homicides. Police attribute much of the gunfire to gangs, fights and retaliation killings, but they are also affecting bystanders.
Nationally, homicides increased by nearly 30 percent from 2019 to 2020, based on FBI data. However, in Portland, deadly violence is increasing at a faster rate than nearly all major cities, with an 83 percent increase in homicides in 2020.
Portland has seen more homicides in 2021 than some larger cities, including San Francisco, and twice as many slayings as its larger neighbor, Seattle. Other hard-hit Western cities include the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metro area, which has about 679,000 residents and has seen a record 97 homicides this year.
Portland police have struggled to quell the violence with a force 128 officers below its authorized strength. Since August 2020, about 200 officers have left the department. Many, in their exit interviews, cited low morale, lack of support from city officials and burnout from months of racial justice protests, which often ended in plumes of tear gas before largely dying down since summer.
'We are running on fumes. There's no way we can investigate thoroughly, and correctly, all these shootings,' said Daryl Turner, executive director of Portland's police union.
Police say the law ties their hands as it prohibits them from using crowd control techniques like pepper spray or tear gas. Instead, law enforcement agencies are told to rely on follow-up investigations to hold rioters accountable
A mob amok through the streets on October 12 and shattered windows, set fires and sprayed graffiti messages like 'anarchy means attack,' 'riots work' (pictured) and 'breaking windows is good'
Turner says the city will need to hire 840 officers over the next five years to implement proper community policing and keep Portland safe.
Besides staffing, Turner said the increase in violence is directly related to budget cuts.
Amid booming calls to defund the police, city leaders slashed $27 million from the police budget last year - $11 million due to the pandemic-caused budget crisis - a decision that Turner says has cost lives.
Officials also disbanded a specialized unit focused on curbing gun violence, which had long faced criticism for disproportionately targeting people of color.
Insufficient manpower and funds have forced officials to implement nontraditional ideas in an attempt to hinder gun violence.
More traffic barrels were installed this month in a southeast Portland neighborhood plagued by shootings, some linked to high-speed drivers. City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said they hope to slow activity at gun violence hot spots and make it harder to 'both commit a crime and get away with it.'
'This is an all-hands-on deck situation where government needs to dig deep, think creatively,' Hardesty said. 'From police to community-based organizations to infrastructure design - we all have a role to play in this emergency.'
Painted messages encouraging violence against police are no longer uncommon to come across in the city, including one that reads 'kill cops' (pictured)
Police say 35 separate locations were targeted in the destruction Tuesday night, October 12 - including banks, retail stores, coffee shops and government buildings. Above is the damage done to Portland's 10th-tallest building, the Moda Tower
In addition, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced in June that officers are no longer being directed to stop drivers for low-level traffic violations.
Wheeler and Police Chief Chuck Lovell said this was in response to data showing a disproportionate impact on Black drivers, but also because the city doesn't have enough officers.
But experts, police and residents say these measures aren't nearly enough to counter the most violent year in the city's modern history.
'This past year has shattered anything that I've ever witnessed,' said Irving, the outreach worker and a former gang member. He said he does not see gun violence slowing without more officers on the street and a specialized gun violence unit, along with investments in community-based organizations.
Four cultural institutions in Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood recently sent a letter to officials, demanding immediate action to keep visitors, staff and volunteers safe.
The increasing violence and pleas for cities to do more have compelled some areas to switch from defunding police departments to restoring funding to them.
On October 16, Lovell posted the above tweet addressing Portland's gun violence. The city has seen more than 1,000 shootings over the past year
In major cities across the country, portions of police budgets are being restored. From Los Angeles to New York, some law enforcement departments that underwent massive budget cuts, amid nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd last year, have had local leaders restore funds or implement new programs or units.
In Portland, there's money available for public safety in the form of a $60 million general fund excess balance.
The City Council can use half the money, which came from business taxes last year and was far more than anticipated, however it wants. Whether a significant portion will go to the police bureau has yet to be determined.
'We have to realize that everybody has a role, from community members to the police department,' Irving said. 'No one entity is going to solve gun violence.'
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