Photo: Michael Rollins

Hawthorne bridge all reopen after early morning downtown manhunt

Photo: Michael Rollins
Photo: Michael Rollins

Portland, Ore. — (KGW) Police closed the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges and a large swath of the downtown waterfront for several hours Friday morning in a search for a suspect in a shooting and hit-and-run crash.

They initially responded to reports of an armed man who had fled a crash on the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge, running across and last seen northbound in Waterfront Park, said Portland Police Sgt. Pete Simpson.

The police activity disrupted early-morning commuters, pedestrians and joggers by closing all or parts of both bridges for nearly three hours. The Morrison Bridge reopened at approximately 7:15 a.m., and the Hawthorne Bridge at 9:15 a.m.

The incident began with a shooting early Friday morning at Southeast 41st and Woodward, Simpson said. The victim, a woman, was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The suspect fled in a car. He crashed at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge shortly before 5 a.m. It was reported that he fired shots into the car and ran across the bridge and was last seen northbound in Waterfront Park.

A later view of bridge tender video revealed no suspect running across the bridge into downtown and police emergency response crews were recalled about 7:15 a.m., he said.

He was described as an African-American man, 6-foot-tall and approximately 230 pounds with tan or yellow clothing. Police said they believed the suspect had fled into Southeast Portland and they were continuing their search there. No specific area has been identified as the likely location.

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