Woman dead after shooting prompts SWAT team search in SE Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – A shelter-in-place order has been lifted in the Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood after a shooting left a woman dead and a SWAT team looking for the suspect, authorities said.

According to the Portland Police Bureau, the “methodical search” was concluded Tuesday evening but a suspect was not located.

This comes after a fatal shooting Tuesday morning brought a response from the PPB, the Gresham Police Department and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities arrived at the scene near 5900 SE 136th Avenue around 8:37 a.m. KOIN 6 News teams on the ground said East Metro SWAT teams arrived just after 9:30 a.m. to search for an armed suspect.

Police ordered a shelter-in-place for nearby residents that remained in effect until just before 7 p.m.

At the site of the shooting, authorities found a woman with life-threatening injuries and said she was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. She died hours later, officials said.

According to David Douglas School District, both Gilbert Park Elementary and Alice Ott Middle School were placed in secure mode until police gave them the all-clear around 12:36 p.m.

“Based on the Portland Police Bureau, there are no safety concerns to our schools,” the district wrote in an afternoon update. “Police presence might still be in the area near Southeast 136th, if you live nearby, please follow law enforcement directions.”

A nearby resident, David Bet, said the situation caused everyone to “scramble” while “everything shut down.”

“I called the school because my kids go to school there, go to the park, so just let them know what happened and they shut the school down,” a nearby resident, David Bet, said. “It was scary. You know, it’s too close to home. This has happened too often — terror around here in south this park. So it’s it’s become a nightmare.”

“I think a lot of times when there’s violence like this, you disconnect because it’s not close to your circle of people,” said another neighbor, Shawna Ramirez. “But just even knowing that it was someone that lived close to me was disheartening. And then when I heard who it was, it just really makes me sad.”

At the height of the response, 60 units from the various law enforcement agencies flooded the area.

“It was very chaotic at that point, they had all the streets blocked, they had multiple drones going everywhere, it was pretty scary actually,” neighbor Bonni Doss said.

“It’s a little scary that it happened so close,” said Ternnell Hale, another local resident.

Hale said he kept his kids from school because he “didn’t want to risk it.”

Hale checked his mailbox and Doss tended to her dog after the chaos subsided as neighbors tried to return to a sense of normal. Even still, uneasiness lingered in the air for many.

“I just really say a prayer for their family. It’s really just a sad, sad thing that happened,” Doss said.

The Portland Police Bureau said their Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) was at a training out of town when the incident happened so the East Metro SWAT, comprised of personnel from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Gresham Police Department, responded. PPB’s Homicide Unit also responded and is investigating.

Law enforcement officials haven’t released the name of the woman who died. KOIN 6 also asked Portland police if they had a description of the suspect but they haven’t provided one yet.

Anyone with information about this shooting is encouraged to contact Portland police.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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