Portland police responded to reports of gunshots near the protest site and arrested two people, according to a report.
The Oregonian reported that authorities responded to reports of shooting in downtown Portland and that an apparent victim was treated in a hospital after being transferred there in a private vehicle. The report noted that it was not immediately clear if the shooting was related to the protest, which marked its 60th consecutive night in the city.
“While police were securing the scene, a person arrived at the hospital in a private vehicle with an apparent, non-life-threatening gunshot wound,” police said in a statement. “That person appears to have been associated with the incident near SW 4th Avenue and SW Salmon Street. Portland police are still investigating.”
KATU reported that the shooting occurred one block from where protesters clashed with police and US agents. Tweets from the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse indicate another huge crowd on Sunday night.
Police said they found a bag containing magazines loaded with Molotov rifles and cocktails in a nearby park. A photo of the items was shared in a police tweet Sunday night saying someone pointed the bag out to officers in Lownsdale Square Park on Sunday night. No further information was released immediately. It was unclear if any of the incidents was related to the protests.
Sunday night’s protest started peacefully, but escalated early Monday. Some protesters crowded around the fence surrounding the federal court in downtown Portland and fired fireworks. American agents deployed gas and sudden explosions, warning protesters to stay away from federal property.
Portland has seen protests for weeks after George Floyd’s death in police custody, and protesters have set fire, smashed buildings, and smashed windows.
Chad Wolf, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, painted a disturbing image in the city on “Sunday Morning Futures” and said the protesters have been armed with bats, power tools and have targeted “their violence in federal courts and agents of federal law. “
Sunday night’s shooting would mark the second reported shooting near the protest. Authorities said a person suffered “numerous gunshot wounds” early Sunday morning, which occurred at the same time that police were forced to respond to another riot at the scene. That victim had non-life threatening injuries.
There has been mounting criticism in the city directed at Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, who has publicly clashed with President Trump over the deployment of federal troops in the city.
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Last week, he addressed a crowd of protesters and was booed and booed. As he spoke, protesters displayed a list of demands at the justice center that included paying police at least 50 percent and releasing all protesters from jail.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson, Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
