Portland, Oregon police say they found no evidence of terrorism, prejudice or political motivation in a series of hit-and-run accidents in which 10 people were hit and one died on Monday, but the driver’s actions show that he intended to achieve them.
Portland police did not release the name of the suspect, who was arrested after hitting a Honda Element and being “cornered” by neighborhood residents. He was in a hospital on Tuesday.
“The detectives have found no evidence that this was an act of terrorism. The detectives have found no evidence of prejudice, nor do they believe that it is politically motivated,” the police said in a statement on Tuesday. “Detectives say the driver’s actions showed an intention to hit and injure people.”
Jean Gerich, 77, the grandmother of five children, was killed. Her family said in a statement released by the police that she was a cancer survivor who lived in Portland for 48 years.
“Jean Gerich was not an anonymous victim. She was a loving mother of two. She was a proud grandmother of five, aged 4 to 16. She would have turned 78 in twelve days. She beat cancer five years ago. “his family said in a statement released by police Tuesday.
“She received her first vaccination injection last week and was very happy to be back in the world,” said her family.
Police said the name and charges of the alleged driver would be released as soon as he was charged. Police said a blood sample was collected and sent to a laboratory.
Portland police chief Chuck Lovell called Monday’s events “acts of senseless violence”. He said the department expressed condolences for Gerich’s family and the wounded.
Witnesses said the suspect was driving erratically and narrowly missed a person, and the first pedestrian hit was hit around 1:02 pm.
The driver hit 10 people in all, in addition to cars, police said. Seven were pedestrians and two were cyclists. One of the victims could not remember whether he was inside or outside the vehicle when he was hit, police said.
Police said most of the victims suffered minor injuries.
The crime scene spans more than a dozen blocks. From where the police said the first person was hit, the place where he fell is about a kilometer away.
A police spokesman said on Monday that the vehicle was driven on the street and also on the sidewalks.
Mayor Ted Wheeler called the incident disturbing and thanked “the many people who did everything to respond to this incident”, from the police and the first respondents to the witnesses and those who intervened to help arrest the suspect.
Gerich’s family also said they were grateful to the good Samaritans who were there. They asked for privacy.
