PORTLAND HOME STRUCK BY OVER 50 BULLETS, AS POLICE RESPOND TO MULTIPLE SHOOTINGS OVER LAST 3 DAYS^[9]

The Portland Police Bureau said ^[10]officers and deputies formed a perimeter around the site Tuesday to allow for private contractors to erect new fencing, but individuals removed the fencing and again trespassed on the property.  

“Portland Police officers stood by while private property owners began to secure their property who police have been working with in anticipation of this morning’s activities. Private property owners arranged for boarding up and fencing,” police said.

Video posted online showed a crowd of demonstrators marching toward officers as they backed away both on foot and their police vehicles from the Red House Tuesday. People in the crowd tossed rocks and balloons filled with paint at officers. Footage showed a police vehicle doused in a chemical substance, which obstructed the windshield as it backed away down a street.

Timothy Becker, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, told Fox News on Wednesday that “nothing has changed overnight” and reiterated that Wheeler, a Democrat, authorized “the Portland police to use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation on North Mississippi Avenue and to hold those violating our community’s laws accountable.” 

Becker said Wednesday morning: “Individuals are still there. Police were not on scene overnight.”

On Tuesday, Wheeler said there will be “no autonomous zone in Portland.”

“We all agree many of our nation’s systems and structures are fundamentally racist and require significant reform. There’s a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, an employment crisis, a mental health crisis, and an addiction crisis. All of these crises are magnified in urban areas, including Portland. And, these crises disproportionately impact Black people,” Wheeler said in a statement.

 “It’s also true that illegal trespassing, ignoring lawful orders from police, blocking sidewalks and streets, and intimidating neighbors inflame these crises and make them more difficult to solve. That is what’s happening on North Mississippi Avenue right now.”