Patriot Prayer leaders says Portland shooting victim supported group
The group's leader Joey Gibson says the man was a 'good friend'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The man killed after Portland protesters clashed with Trump supporters was a backer of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, it was reported Sunday.
Joey Gibson, head of the Washington state group, also described the dead man as a “good friend,” the Associated Press reported.
An AP freelance photographer who was in the area where the shooting took place Saturday night said the man who was shot was wearing a Patriot Prayer hat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The group has clashed with Portland Black Lives Matters protesters in the past.
A man is treated by medics after being shot during a confrontation on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Fights broke out in downtown Portland as a large caravan of supporters of President Donald Trump drove through the city, clashing with counter-protesters. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)
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Gibson arrived at the shooting scene shortly after it happened and was briefly corralled in a nearby gas station by angry protesters, the AP reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I can't say much right now. All I can do is verify that he was a good friend and a supporter of Patriot Prayer,” Gibson told the AP in a text.
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Police said the man died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Homicide detectives were working the case.
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"It is still early in this investigation, and I ask everyone to give the detectives time to do their important work before drawing conclusions about what took place," said Police Chief Chuck Lovell on Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He appealed for those with information to come forward.
"I ask them to please reach out to our detectives," Lovell said. "This violence is completely unacceptable and we are working diligently to find and apprehend the individual or individuals responsible."