Portland man charged with murder in shooting at Amir Locke protest

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A Portland man has been charged with nine counts in connection to the deadly shooting in a public park last weekend where a group of racial justice protesters gathered in honor of Amir Locke. 

Benjamin Smith, 43, has been charged with one count of murder in the second degree with a firearm, four counts of attempted murder in the second degree with a firearm, two counts of assault in the first degree with a firearm and two counts of assault in the second degree with a firearm.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt also received a warrant for Smith’s arrest. 

Smith, who was shot in the hip area, remained hospitalized in serious condition as of Tuesday. Portland Police Bureau officers have remained with Smith at the hospital continuously since he was admitted.

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Prosecutors said video evidence showed Smith confronted a group of people engaged in an organized demonstration at Normandale Park on Saturday. He approached several participants, yelling at them to leave, according to the district attorney’s office. Several participants asked Smith to leave them alone. 

Moments later, Smith allegedly drew a firearm and fired at the crowd, striking five people.

Brandy "June" Knightly, 60, was shot and killed, while four other protesters were injured. The Oregonian reported that a protester then shot and wounded Smith. That individual has not been charged. 

Protesters gathered in the name of Locke, a Black man shot and killed by Minneapolis police conducting a search warrant in connection to Locke’s teenager cousin, who was wanted for murder. 

"Many witnesses were uncooperative, and unfortunately someone chose to take critical evidence from that scene. Officers were able to secure the scene and get the victims additional medical assistance," Portland police chief Chuck Lovell said at a press conference Tuesday. He said officers determined there had been "a confrontation between an armed resident and armed protesters." 

Schmidt and Lovell on Tuesday declined to comment on the motive, arguing more time was needed to conduct further investigation. Fox News Digital reached out to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday but did not immediately receive a response. 

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The shooting was just one of three major incidents of gun violence in Portland over the weekend. Also after a fatal officer-involved shooting and a separate incident where a woman was killed and a man, a 1-year-old child and a 5-year-old child were shot inside a vehicle, local, county and federal officials came together for the virtual press conference Tuesday focused on addressing pervasive crime. 

"First and foremost is to stop the shooting. Get this to stop. We are in unprecedented territory again this year," FBI Portland Special Agent In Charge Kieran Ramsey said. "Whereas, last year law enforcement, especially Portland Police Bureau, continued to sound the alarm of record-breaking violence on the streets of Portland, this year we are already on pace to easily surpass that level." 

"This was a deadly, difficult and disturbing weekend for our city," Mayor Ted Wheeler said Tuesday. 

Lovell detailed the two other incidents of gun violence last weekend. 

An officer-involved shooting occurred in the 900 block of Broadway Drive. It began with a suspicious disturbance call around 6:42 p.m. Saturday. While en route, officers were informed of shots fired, and residents were ordered to shelter in place. An officer shot and killed an individual around 8:30 p.m. 

The medical examiner will release the name of the deceased person after family is notified. 

Officers were dispatched to 128th Street and Southeast Foster Road around 10:30 p.m. Sunday for a shooting inside a vehicle. They found a woman deceased, a man critically injured, a 1-year-old shot in a leg and a 5-year-old shot in an arm. The investigation into the incident is ongoing. 

"As a father, I was particularly struck by what happened this weekend with two small children being shot," Wheeler said. "I don’t know how anyone in this community could hear about or read about or in some cases personally experience the kind of horrific violence we’ve seen this weekend and feel anything other than utter despair and a profound sense of sadness." 

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Portland faced months of continual anti-police demonstrations targeting government buildings in 2020 following George Floyd’s death, and a mass exodus of officers from the Portland Police Bureau followed. 

"We’re actively working to recruit and retain our best officers to better protect Portlanders, and I’ve set a goal to hire 300 police staff over the next three years to get closer to minimum staffing levels for the Portland Police Bureau," Wheeler said of efforts to deter violence. "My administration will continue to lead in prioritizing public safety, and we’re not going to stop until peace returns to Portland."