PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Newly released court documents detail what is said to have happened when accused road rage shooter Geoffrey Edward Hammond allegedly shot two men in downtown Portland on Wednesday.
According to an affidavit, Hammond was partially blocking traffic at an intersection outside the Moxy Hotel on Southwest Alder Street, when Ryan Martin came up behind his car.
The pair flipped each other off and Martin swerved around Hammond’s car, stopping his car on the other side of the intersection and getting out to confront Hammond the documents said.
A witness who spoke with KOIN 6 News, Muhamed, said it happened so quickly.
“I just saw him walk up to that window and he said one sentence. And right after he said that I opened the Moxy door to go meet the people I was meeting, and I heard one gun shot,” Muhamed said.
While Martin approached, the affidavit says, Hammond loaded a firearm and proceeded to shoot Martin in the chest. According to the documents, when later questioned, Hammond admitted he could see Martin was unarmed.
Martin fell to the ground and begged saying “I’m sorry, I had a bad day,” before Hammond allegedly attempted to shoot Martin again, but his gun malfunctioned.
Muhamed shared what he thinks he heard at the scene.
“‘I saw what you did,’ or ‘I know what you did,’ one of those,” Muhamed said. “But it was said firmly.”
Witnesses to the incident reported seeing Hammond flash something metallic to Martin, possibly something that looked like a police badge, and while attempting to fix his gun said, “You are lucky I didn’t shoot you in the heart.”
Hammond later admitted that he had probably said “You are lucky I didn’t shoot you in the head,” according to the documents.
“There wasn’t even a back and forth. It was just like one statement, one gunshot and then I dove down and I was yelling at everybody inside to get down,” Muhamed said. “When I looked back I saw him {Martin] on the ground and I saw an arm and what looked like a gun outside the window.”
Another witness, Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, said “the police came and took over and I just held his hand, and he was holding on, holding on. And I mean, you could tell he was dying.”
Martin, 47, died at the scene.
During the incident, Sam Gomez exited the Moxy Hotel and saw Martin on the ground and began recording the incident on his phone. That’s when, investigators say, Hammond pointed his gun and fired at Gomez.
Gomez attempted to run but the bullet went through one of his legs and lodged into the femur of his other leg. He remains hospitalized following surgery.
After the incident, Hammond called 911 while driving away from the scene. On the call, Hammond is said to have openly admitted to shooting both men. Hammond drove to the top floor of a parking garage next to the courthouse where he turned himself in.
During interviews, the documents say Hammond admitted to shooting both men, acknowledged that he knew Martin was unarmed, and said he had planned on shooting Martin a second time but the gun had malfunctioned.
He also said that he shot Gomez because he thought that Gomez may have been planning to ambush him, which he recognized as a military tactic.
No weapons were recovered from either victim after the incident.
Witnesses, including Muhamed, said they feel the tragedy could have been prevented.
“Walk away,” he said. “If anyone does anything to do, I don’t care how angry you are, walk away. Because if this guy walked away, he could have still been alive today.”
