Portland police are pleading with the public to help break the cycle of violence in the city of Oregon, where shootings and murders have skyrocketed, according to authorities and a local report.
At least 850 shooting incidents were reported in Portland on December 24, with 59 so far this month, according to Portland Police (PPB) statistics. There were 33 shooting incidents reported in December last year.
As of Christmas Eve, the shooting has surpassed by more than 116% this year, with 393 shootings reported in 2019.
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Portland police have responded to reports of gunfire fired in the early hours of December 7 in the area of the 600-block Northeast Morgan Street (Portland Police Bureau)
At least 53 murders were reported in Portland on December 24 – the highest annual total the city has seen in nearly thirty years, local news station KGW8 reported.
A PPB spokesman did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request.
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On December 16, PPB chief Chuck Lovell appealed to the public, telling his followers that the police department and the community “must do everything we can to break the cycle of violence.”
“Gun violence has plagued our city by twice as much as last year,” he said. “On average, someone is shot in Portland about every two days.”
Lovell said 2020 was a ‘deadly year’ for Portland and urged the public not to lose sight of the fact that it died.
“We came together to stop, to stay home to keep others safe. We came together to do our best to stop the spread of a deadly disease,” he said. “Violence is also a deadly disease and our community suffers the consequences.”
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City officials disbanded PPB’s gun reduction team, a unit of 34 people, in July as part of the police’s reform efforts.