Two people with loaded handguns were arrested during rioting in Portland overnight Sunday, just one day after a man was shot dead downtown.
Unrest—primarily riots, broken up by occasional peaceful nights—has taken place in Oregon’s largest city since May 28.
A crowd of about 150 people marched to the Penumbra Kelly Building, which houses the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Many were wearing heavy protective gear like helmets, gas masks, and external armor. Some carried shields and reflective squares, which were used to reflect police lights back toward officers.
Rioters began throwing rocks, eggs, and other items at police officers. They ignored warnings broadcast over loudspeaker to disperse or face arrest or the use of crowd control agents.
Police officers, with assistance from Oregon troopers and county sheriff’s deputies, forcibly moved the crowd and arrested 29 people. Two of those arrested possessed loaded handguns. Isaac Schott, 22, of Salem, Oregon, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, the Portland Police Bureau said in an incident summary.
Among the other 28 arrested was Kristopher Donnelly, a 26-year-old Portland resident who federal authorities had issued an arrest warrant for. Donnelly was charged with disorderly conduct, interfering with a peace officer, and resisting arrest. He was previously arrested during rioting on Aug. 7.
Part of the mob returned to the building following the dispersal. The crowd fizzled out by 1:30 a.m.
City, county, and state officials have been unable to quell the rioting, which exploded following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Chuck Lovell, and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt told reporters on Sunday that the people or person responsible for the killing would be held responsible.
The shooting death wasn’t the first in the city, Lovell said, pointing to a 16-year-old teenager being gunned down in a city park last week.
“Some may not even be aware it happened as it hardly generated any headlines. We’ve witnessed an increase in more and more uncivilized activity in our city and in our nation. It’s incumbent on all of us to do better. So no more lives are lost. Portland desperately needs calm,” he said.
Shootings have spiked in the city this year as police struggle to respond to 911 calls, fatigued from responding to unrest nearly every night.
Wheeler, who oversees the police bureau, said it was hard for him to say that city officials did everything they possibly could in light of the killing over the weekend.
“I think it would be preposterous for me to do so. But I’m certainly being introspective,” he said. “I’m working with my team and others. And we’re talking about how do we make sure that that is the only time somebody dies on the streets of our city that way? It was one too many.”
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