PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – One person was shot and killed in Portland, Oregon, as a large caravan of President Donald Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed in the streets of the city that has become a flashpoint in the national unrest since George Floyd was killed.
It wasn’t clear if the shooting late Saturday was linked to fights that broke out as a caravan of about 600 vehicles was confronted by counterdemonstrators in the city’s downtown.
Police said the caravan had left the area around 8:30 p.m., and officers heard gunshots around 15 minutes later . Officers arrived at the shooting scene “within a minute,” police said, but the man who was shot did not survive.
An Associated Press freelance photographer heard three gunshots and then saw police medics attending to the victim, who appeared to be a white man. The freelancer said the man was wearing a hat bearing the insignia of Patriot Prayer, a right-wing group whose members have frequently clashed with protesters in Portland in the past.
Police said the man was shot in the chest. He was not immediately identified. It’s unclear who shot him.