Portland sees spike in gun violence as heat wave blankets metro area

As the heat rose across Portland, so has violent crime, with six shootings since July 4. According to a local sociology professor, that's a predictable pattern.
Published: Jul. 7, 2024 at 10:22 PM PDT

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - As the temperature rose across Portland, so has violent crime, with six shootings since Thursday - July 4. According to a local sociology professor, that is a predictable pattern.

Highs this weekend have been in the 90s and even hit 100.

Professor Randy Blazak told FOX 12 that when heat spikes, people grow agitated and murder rates increase. He said factors include less supervision of minors, more alcohol consumption, and simply more people being out and about.

Silvia Xiong parked her car on Southeast Ninth Avenue on Saturday night, before going out with friends. She returned to her car Sunday morning and found it sprayed with bullets.

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A 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were hurt in a north Portland shooting early Saturday morning.

“This is actually making me think twice before going back out to a late-night bar or a club again,” Xiong said.

She said she visits the area often, and this was her first bad experience.

“I don’t know if it’s even safe to drive because I can’t see out my driver’s window,” Xiong said. “My car’s never been involved in a crime scene before. I’ve never been involved in a crime scene before, so this is very new to me, I don’t know what to do.”

Police said it was a drive-by shooting that happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday. They said two people were shot and taken to the hospital; one died, and the other - a 17-year-old - is expected to survive.

This was the latest in a string of shootings this weekend.

Six miles north and one hour before, someone was killed in a shooting on Northeast 82nd Avenue. And 24 hours before that, police said a man was shot and killed in Old Town, on Northwest Third and Everett. No arrests have been made in any of these deadly shootings.

Police also said people were shot on North Michigan Avenue late Thursday and North Newman Avenue late Friday, with no arrests made.

Someone was also shot in the leg on Northeast 61st Avenue on July 4. The suspect in that shooting, Lonne Woodlee, turned himself in.

If you have any information that could help solve any of these crimes, you’re asked to contact Portland police. You can email crimetips@police.portlandoregon or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers anonymously.