July was the deadliest month in Portland since the 1980s

By Jake Dima and Mary Rose Corkery

July was the deadliest month in Portland since the 1980s, as the city continues to be roiled by weeks-long riots and violence.

A total of 15 people were killed in the Oregon city last month, which makes up a large portion of the yearly total of 24 murders so far in 2020, according to Fox News. The month, which authorities called the city’s deadliest in 30 years, wrapped up with a massive shootout in which gunmen reportedly discharged more than 150 rounds, KATU 2 reported.

“That’s very concerning, to know that that many people have been killed in such a short period of time,” Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

Portland experienced 125 shootings through June and July this year compared to 59 in the same time period last year, the AP reported.

Demonstrators have flooded the streets of the city since late May after the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, according to video of the incident.

Federal agents were deployed in July — and later withdrawn on Thursday — in an attempt to quash violent uprisings on the city’s streets, according to The New York Times.

Portland recorded 112 arson incidents during the time span of the riots compared to 32 intentional blazes in 2019 in the same period, the AP reported. Vandalism and burglary are also on the rise in the city, while car theft, rape and drug crimes are decreasing, according to the news wire.

Law enforcement response times have increased from 7.5 minutes to 11.5 minutes amid the unrest, the AP reported.

Homicides skyrocket in dozens of nation’s largest cities, analysis finds

Homicides in 50 of America’s largest cities rose by 24%, a new analysis found.

In total, 36 of 50 of America’s largest cities examined saw a double-digit rise in homicide rates, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Austin and Chicago’s homicide rates have increased more than 50% in comparison to last year’s rates, according to the Journal.

Fort Worth’s homicide rate increased more than 25% while Dallas and San Jose both saw a less than 25% decrease in homicide rates in comparison to last year, the paper found.

Other crimes, such as robbery, decreased by 11% among 41 of America’s largest cities that provided robbery data, the Journal’s analysis showed.

Police say robbery, burglary and rape rates have gone down perhaps because of the coronavirus lockdowns, the analysis noted, adding that authorities have also attributed the rising homicide rates to rising gang violence.

Homicide rates are also up because criminals aren’t as afraid of institutions, including police, that have stepped back because of police reform protests and the coronavirus, analysts and law-enforcement officials said, the analysis showed.

Protests calling for racial justice and police reform have been ongoing since George Floyd died in police custody.

Although many in the Democratic Party don’t directly call to defund the police, many of them sympathize with the movement and some endorse it, the Daily Caller reported.

The WSJ analysis used individual police department reports on city crime and public information data. The analysis also used the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab for analysis completion and review.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Pete Forsyth

3 thoughts on “July was the deadliest month in Portland since the 1980s

  1. Is it a coincidence that the states and cities run by Dems/Libs/Progs for years with governors and mayors sit bye and watch these bad guy destroy their states and cities? Their socialist approach to their style of governance has led to the mess they have on their hands. Defund the police and let the social workers handle the rioters you say, that’s a wonderful solution. GET REAL AND BRING OUT YOUR NATIONAL GUARD and put a stop to this activity once and for all!!!!

    • Strange. These rioters and insurgents wore their masks. Yet, many people were harmed and some died.

  2. Ahhh the socialist communist Democrats of utopia have done such a stand
    up job for their communities they were elected to protect .

    Just imagine a whole country like this under a bumbling basement joe
    the dementia can’tidate…… with strings pulled by burnee, aoc, omar, japapal
    and soros…the pinheadponoccio

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