Seven people suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds during a mass shooting at a parking lot memorial service. It took place in Gresham, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. This is, at least, the second time this has occurred in nine days.
On April 17th, a very similar event unfolded in Columbus, Ohio. During the Columbus shooting, a woman was killed who was going shopping and not even attending the memorial. Five other people were wounded.
On April 26th, a memorial service in Gresham was held in front of a strip mall where Alejandro Barajas, a 22-year-old Latino, was murdered just days earlier. Around 11:30 PM, a dark SUV pulled up and unleashed a hail of bullets. Seven people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Bullets also damaged stores. Some people returned fire on the SUV.
Shortly after, Omar Cibrian Gongora was arrested and charged with the murder of Barajas. Currently, the authorities are saying that Gongora is not the perpetrator of the mass shooting, and the timing of his arrest was not related.
The city of Portland is currently experiencing the highest number of murders in the history of the city. In 2016, Portland only had 20 homicides for the entire year! In 2020, the city had 54, which tied the previous record set in 1993. So far, Portland is on track to set new records for homicides and shootings in 2021.
