Several injured in shooting during North Portland street racing event

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — At least four people were injured in a shooting during a street racing event on North Marine Drive early Monday morning, according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).

One suspect, identified as 21-year-old Adrian Dangelo Ramirez, was treated for a gunshot wound and then booked into jail on charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

Officers responded to the 6300 block of North Marine Drive near Bybee Lake just after midnight and found nearly 100 bullet casings at the scene, but no gunshot victims were immediately located, PPB said in a news release.

As police conducted an investigation, a handful of gunshot victims began showing up at local hospitals.

PPB identified those injured as a 21-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman, a 16-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy. It’s unclear if the 11-year-old was hit by gunfire or shrapnel, but none of their injuries were life-threatening.

The city of Portland saw illegal street racing decline last fall after police started cracking down these events. Recently, the number of people attending street races has started to pick up again, police said, adding that several hundred people attended the event on Marine Drive overnight, including children as young as 5 months old.

“Street racing is not only illegal, [it] 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.”

Neighbors in the St. Johns area have often complained about the driving hazard and noise pollution brought on by street racing. Stan, who didn’t want to share his last name, said he calls 911 multiple times on weekends but was told to call the non-emergency number.

“The cops aren’t going,” said Stan. “They’ve told me straight up they’re not going out there, so it’s just the wild west, you know?”

Portland has seen at least 106 injury shootings and 23 homicides so far in 2022. All but one of those homicides were committed with a firearm. The number of confirmed shootings is at 371.