Portland Police Bureau reported a troubling statistic for the city -- they've responded to 355 shootings so far this year.
That's more than double from this time last year, too, according to KATU. Reporters said the metro area had four shootings over the last 24 hours, and two people were killed.
"People are being shot at a rate we haven’t seen in Portland before," said Lt. Greg Pashley with Portland Police Bureau. "We know it’s taking its toll on the community, and if there was some switch we could flip, we would love to put an end to it, but as long as people are willing to pull triggers, in those emotional heated moments to resolve their disputes, unfortunately, we’re going to continue to see this sort of thing."
Over the last few months, residents, community leaders, and city officials have voiced their concerns over the increasing violence in the City of Roses.
What makes this even more alarming is that it's not even summer, yet, according to Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. Portland sees a spike in gun violence during the season.
"We need to have direct intervention because what we’re doing right now isn’t working; it’s just not enough," she said. "It just seems to be this vicious cycle that just leads to more and more violence."
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