Racial justice demonstrators and pro-Trump marchers converged on downtown Portland, Oregon, Saturday, sparking clashes and leaving one man shot and killed in the mayhem, police said.
They had not identified the victim nor any suspect as of Sunday morning, but signaled the death was related to the competing demonstrations, suggesting that it was likely caught on social media that has saturated the three months’ worth of riots.
“It is still early in this investigation, and I ask everyone to give the detectives time to do their important work before drawing conclusions about what took place,” said Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell. “If anyone can provide information about this case, I ask them to please reach out to our detectives. This violence is completely unacceptable and we are working diligently to find and apprehend the individual or individuals responsible.”
While most of Portland’s riots over the last three months have come from racial justice protesters, the last two weekend have seen pro-police marchers take to the city center — and be confronted by Black Lives Matter supporters.
Last weekend one right-wing activist brandished a gun at the BLM protesters, sparking complaints from the community that police did not intervene.
The police have been accused of using heavy-handed tactics toward the BLM demonstrations, which have rocked sections of the city on a nightly basis since late May.
The pro-Trump crowd conducted a vehicle caravan parade on Saturday, but Oregon news reports said the shooting happened after that.
The Oregonian said a photo of the victim in Saturday’s shooting showed he had pro-police patches and a hat with a Patriot Prayer logo. That’s a right-wing group.
