1 dead, 6 injured in downtown Portland shooting

One person died and at least six more were injured in an early morning shooting Saturday in downtown Portland, Oregon, police said.

One victim, a woman, died at the hospital after sustaining critical injuries in the 2 a.m. shooting near a pod of popular food trucks. Six other victims found at the scene were expected to survive. More victims may have left the scene on their own, police said.

No arrests have been made and no further details were released Saturday.

Filiberto Saldana was busy cooking in his food truck when he heard gunshots early Saturday, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"The next thing I know I heard people running," he said, adding that a dark blue car took off right after the gunshots. "We just saw a car going fast in front of us."

The shooting was the latest in an epidemic of gun violence in Oregon's largest city this year. There have been about 570 shooting incidents in Portland so far this year, more than twice the number recorded during the same time period in 2020.

Last month, two people were shot in the same area and 28 bullet casings were recovered, the newspaper reported.

Police have estimated that about half the shootings are gang-related and Mayor Ted Wheeler warned in May that perpetrators were being told by gangs to shoot someone within 30 days or be shot. People were also traveling from other states to engage in violence in the city, he asserted.

It wasn't immediately clear what sparked Saturday's shooting. Police said there was no threat to the public.