Correction: The originally published version of this story inaccurately stated that the gunshot came from inside the building. PPB initially told KOIN 6 that a shell casing was found in the damaged apartment unit. PPB has since corrected this statement, saying that a bullet, not a bullet casing, was found inside the apartment, indicating that the gunshot came outside the building.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A single gunshot sent panes of glass from the 24th floor of a newly built 25-story high-rise at 1140 Washington Street plummeting onto 11th Avenue in Southwest Portland on May 20.
Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Lt. Nathan Sheppard told KOIN 6 News that the gunshot was fired into the “Eleven West” building window at approximately 9:32 p.m. on Saturday. A photo of the scene provided by PPB shows that the unit inside the mixed-use residential and commercial building appeared to be unfurnished. However, it’s unclear if a tenant currently occupies the space.
“Officers were dispatched [to the scene] on the report of four ‘giant’ panes of glass falling from a tall building,” Sheppard said. “The glass landed on several vehicles and littered the roadway.”
Video of the scene posted to the Portland Reddit page shows that multiple seven Portland Fire and Rescue engines and four trucks also responded to the scene. However, PF&R spokesperson Rick Graves told KOIN 6 that the heavy firefighter response was likely a result of a dispatching error.
No known injuries were reported in connection to the shooting or the falling glass. Officers taped off the street to protect citizens from the falling glass until a construction company arrived to board up the shattered windows.
Responding officers found no suspects on scene and no arrests have been made in connection to the case. One bullet was collected from the scene as evidence. PPB was unable to provide info on the caliber of bullet used in the shooting.
KOIN 6 has reached out to the property management company Cushman & Wakefield for more information about the damaged unit. Cushman & Wakefield has not immediately responded for comment. Spokesperson Ken Ray with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services told KOIN 6 that the building’s construction is nearly complete and that a temporary certificate of occupancy has been granted for the property.
“The interior work in the building is about 99% complete,” Ray said. “There is some work remaining on the 25th-floor balcony. Occupancy has been granted for everything other than that balcony. There is some exterior work that was delayed by supply chain issues and is being completed now. There is a life safety plan in place to keep people away from that exterior work.”
