After a few hours of street racing early Monday morning in Portland, it all ended with four different people being injured by gunfire police say. Victims aged 21, 18, 16, and 11 each suffered non-life-threatening injuries and the oldest has been arrested as the prime suspect. Police aren’t totally certain that all victims and suspects have been accounted for at this time.
The incident took place at the 6300 block of North Marine Drive in what sounds like a street racing hotbed to hear police talk about it. While local residents have verified that the area is well-known for illegal street racing, authorities arrived late enough to 911 calls that none of the victims were still on the scene. During their investigation, the four currently accounted for arrived at local hospitals.
Adrian Dangelo Ramirez, 21, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and unlawful use of a weapon. It’s unclear if Ramirez fired all of the rounds found at the scene or if there was another gunman on the scene. Local news station KATU2 said that it’s unclear how the street racing and the shooting are connected. Police have a clear message about the situation though.
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“Street racing is not only illegal but can turn into a dangerous crowd event, drawing not only participants but spectators,” said Chief Chuck Lovell. “We are fortunate that no one was more seriously injured or killed over the weekend. Unfortunately, these take considerable resources to address and can be hazardous for not just those involved, but innocent road users who often are affected. As a city, we must work together to hold those committing these illegal street takeovers accountable.”
No account of attendees at the alleged street race has been published so the connection between the event and the shooting remains in question. For all we know, this could’ve been a sideshow as seen in many other parts of the country, not a street race.
Regardless, Portland has a city code that bands “speeding, sliding, and racing” as misdemeanor offenses. It also labels those activities as “Unlawful Street Takeover” and “Unlawful Staging of a Street Takeover Event“.
The law code itself is cringe worthy to read and includes this gem of lawyer-speak: “Involves one or more persons demonstrating, exhibiting, or comparing the maneuverability or power of one or more motor vehicles in a curved direction, in a circular direction, or around corners, including but not limited to by breaking traction in a curved or circular direction or around corners.”
We’ve reached out to Portland PD to find out if any sort of racing or street takeover was afoot. We’ll update this post with further information as we get it.