Portland police in December arrested 42 people suspected of being involved in November gun incidents, some linked to gang activity.
The police bureau in a news release also said 159 gang-related violent crimes were committed last year in the city, compared with 193 in 2015.
“Operation Safe Holidays,” as it was named, took place from Dec. 7 to Dec. 20. Nine firearms – seven handguns, a shotgun and a rifle — were seized.
“The goal of this operation was to hold accountable those who had shown a propensity for violent crime and to prevent further acts of gun violence,” the news release says, “which has an adverse impact on families, children and livability in Portland neighborhoods.”
The suspects arrested are believed to have been “involved in gun violence during the month of November,” spokesman Sgt. Christopher Burley said in e-mailed responses to questions. Burley declined to name the suspects because doing so could jeopardize investigations, he said.
Suspects were identified through “evidence gathered from crime scenes and intelligence,” Burley said.
Operation Safe Holidays was a collaboration among the Portland Police Bureau; the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; U.S. Parole and Probation; U.S. Pretrial; the East Metro Gang Enforcement Team; and Multnomah County Parole and Probation, the news release says.
Anyone with information about gun crimes in Portland is encouraged to provide information to the Police Bureau’s Tactical Operations Division at 503-823-4106 or email guntaskforce@portlandoregon.gov.
— Allan Brettman
abrettman@oregonian.com
503-294-5900
@allanbrettman
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