Portland police are begging the public to help “break the cycle of violence” in the city of Oregon, where shootings and murders have soared, according to authorities and a local report.
At least 850 shootings were recorded in Portland as of December 24, with 59 so far this month, statistics from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) show. There were 33 shootings recorded in December last year.
On Christmas Eve, this year’s shootings exceeded last year’s by more than 116%, with 393 shootings recorded throughout 2019, statistics show.
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At least 53 murders were reported in Portland as of December 24 – the highest annual total the city has seen in almost 30 years, reported the local news station KGW8.
A PPB spokesman did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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On December 16, PPB chief Chuck Lovell appealed to the public on Twitter, telling his followers that the police department and the community “must do everything we can together to break the cycle of violence”.
“Armed violence has hit our city twice as much as last year,” he said. “On average, someone is shot in Portland approximately every other day.”
Lovell said that 2020 was a “deadly year” for Portland and urged the public to “not lose sight of the fact that these are human beings who have died”.
“We came together to make a mask, stay home and keep others safe. We came together to do our best to prevent the spread of a deadly disease,” he said. “Violence is also a disease that kills and our community is suffering the consequences”.
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City officials dissolved the PPB’s Gun Violence Reduction Team, a 34-person unit, in July as part of the city’s police reform efforts.