Trump and other speakers called for a violent, bickering future at this week’s conference if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins in November and points to Portland as a cautionary tale for what will happen to Americans. has gone. (Doug Mills / The New York Times)
Police said a man was shot and killed late Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, fiercely lynched on the streets between President Donald Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters.
It was unclear whether the shooting was related to the brawl that broke out in the form of a caravan of about 600 vehicles faced by protesters in the city. An Associated Press freelance photographer heard three gunmen and then saw police medics working on the body of the victim, who appeared to be a white man.
Portland police officers heard gunshots from the area of Southeast 3rd Avenue and Southwest Elder Street. He responded and located a victim with a gunshot wound to the chest. Medical responded and determined the victim was deceased, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement.
Police did not release any additional details and the investigation was on until late Saturday.
Portland has been the site of protests for more than three months since the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Many of them culminate in vandalism and violence, and hundreds of protesters have been arrested by local and federal law enforcement since late May. The caravan was arriving in the city during the planned protests on Saturday. Police made several arrests prior to the shooting and advised residents to avoid the City Corps.
Two days after Trump invited Portland as a liberal city, the Republican National Convention incited violence with violence in a speech under its law and order re-election campaign theme. The caravan marked the third Saturday in a row that Trump supporters rallied in the city.
Trump and other speakers called for a violent, bickering future at this week’s conference if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins in November and points to Portland as a cautionary tale for what will happen to Americans. has gone.
The organizer of the Trump rally, who coordinated a similar caravan in Boid, Idaho, earlier in the week, said in a video posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon that attendees should only hide weapons and keep the route secret for security reasons having had.
The caravan had gathered at a suburban mall earlier in the day and moved as a group to the center of Portland. As they arrived in the city, protesters attempted to stop them from standing on the road and blocking the bridges.
Video of the scene showed sporadic fighting, with Trump supporters firing at opponents with paintball pellets and throwing things at Trump caravans using bear spray as counter-protesters.
The shooting occurred just before 9 a.m. Pacific, several hours after the caravan arrived in Portland.
Demonstrations of Black Lives Matter usually targeted police buildings and federal buildings. Some protesters have called for a cut in the police budget, while the city’s mayor and some black communities have stopped the violence.
On Saturday morning, a fire outside the police union building, which is the site of continued protests, prompted the police to declare a riot.
An accelerator was used to ignite a mattress and other debris against the doors of the Portland Police Association building, police said in a statement. At least one damper was also set on fire in a nearby street.
The uproar ensued after a ruckus in the lobby of the Portland Mayor’s condominium building on Friday night.❐
