Two people were shot Saturday in a parking lot in Portland's Hazelwood neighborhood, prompting police to shut down Northeast 122nd Avenue between Glisan and Oregon streets as investigators combed the scene. Both victims were taken to a hospital by ambulance and are expected to survive, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
Portland police responded to the parking lot after reports that two people had been shot, according to KATU. Investigators found a white Dodge Durango at the scene with what appears to be five bullet holes in the driver's window, though it remains unclear whether the vehicle's occupants were deliberately targeted or caught in crossfire — a question the station's report leaves unanswered. Police have not released a suspect description, and no arrests had been announced as of the report.
Sgt. Kevin Allen asked anyone with information to email [email protected], referencing case number 26-260462. That email route reflects a shift in how Portland police are asking the public to come forward: in March, the bureau urged residents to submit non-anonymous tips directly rather than through Crime Stoppers, after reports surfaced of a potential third-party data breach affecting that service, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
Who Investigates a Non-Fatal Shooting Like This One
Under the bureau's operating procedures, non-fatal injury shootings like this one are typically assigned to detectives with the Enhanced Community Safety Team, while the separate Focused Intervention Team handles active scene response and monitors for potential retaliation, per a bureau presentation. That division of labor comes as the department works with reduced staffing — the bureau had roughly 804 sworn members in early 2026 against an authorized strength of 1,037 officers, straining patrol and investigative capacity across East Precinct, according to data compiled by Omnilert.
If investigators identify a shooter, the case could carry significant statutory weight. Intentionally firing a gun at or toward an occupied vehicle within city limits qualifies as Unlawful Use of a Weapon under Oregon Revised Statute 166.220, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Oregon law. Should either victim's injuries meet the threshold for first- or second-degree assault under ORS 163.175 and 163.185, those charges fall under Oregon's Measure 11, which carries mandatory minimum prison sentences, per the Oliveros Law Group.
A Familiar Stretch of 122nd Avenue
Hazelwood has seen repeated gun violence along this same corridor. In a dawn killing on 122nd Avenue in June, a fatal shooting closed the same street, and a March shooting on East Burnside left a man fighting for his life and shut down major transit routes nearby. Just last month, a Hazelwood man was charged with murder in a case where the victim had been dead for days before anyone noticed.
Citywide, the numbers tell a more complicated story. Portland recorded 525 total shooting incidents in 2025, a nearly 30% drop from 747 the year before and the city's lowest annual total since 2019, according to KGW. Non-fatal shootings citywide fell from 453 year-to-date in 2022 to 171 by June of this year, per the U.S. Attorney's Office. Yet June 2026 alone saw 59 shootings, the highest single-month total since January 2025, and Portland's Ceasefire reports note that East Portland neighborhoods including Hazelwood remain disproportionately affected even as the broader trend improves.
City officials have poured money into the 122nd Avenue corridor in other ways. The Portland Bureau of Transportation secured $9.6 million in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funding for infrastructure safety upgrades along the stretch from Southeast Foster Road to Northeast Sandy Boulevard, though that investment targets traffic safety rather than gun violence directly.
Police have not said whether Saturday's shooting is connected to any of the neighborhood's earlier violence, and the motive behind the attack remains unknown. Anyone with information is asked to email [email protected] and reference case number 26-260462.
