SUV also hit in shooting near Redmond park, police say
Whoever fired up to 13 gunshots near a southwest Redmond park on Friday night, hitting at least two nearby homes, also struck an SUV parked in a driveway, police said Monday as the incident became a Crime Stoppers case with a possible cash reward.
Sgt. Jesse Petersen said the SUV was parked in a home’s driveway near the Umatilla Sports Complex. He said a bullet hole was reported Sunday to have been found in the lower rear portion of the left fender, directly behind the rear tire. A bullet hole was found but not the bullet itself, he added.
Police said they are looking for a red car with loud exhaust that sped away from the area shortly after the shots were fired.
No injuries have been reported, officers said as they turned to the public for help in finding the car and shooter.
Police responded to the area of the Umatilla Sports Complex, 2900 SW Umatilla Avenue, at 8:24 p.m. Friday after Deschutes County dispatchers received several calls of shots being fired near the park and a vehicle fleeing the area at a high rate of speed, Sgt. Curtis Chambers said.
One person who reported the incident said they heard as many as 12 or 13 shots fired, Chambers said, although others reported hearing fewer shots.
Arriving officers spoke with several witnesses and searched the area, later discovering “evidence of a firearm being discharged” near the intersection of Umatilla Avenue and 30 th Street, the sergeant said, not revealing specifics.
The evidence was recovered at the scene and will be sent to the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for analysis, Chambers said.
Meanwhile, dispatchers got a phone call from a homeowner on Meadow Lane, about 900 yards southeast of the park, reporting a bullet had come through their window and landed on the kitchen floor, Chambers said. The bullet was investigated as being related to the park incident, he said, though confirmation is pending ballistics testing.
Officers returned to the park Saturday to look for more evidence or damage in daylight. Another homeowner, on 28 th Street, was contacted and reported finding a bullet inside their home Saturday morning, Chambers said.
“At this time, it is not known if anyone was injured as a result of this incident,” Chambers said, but residents of the homes the bullets struck were unhurt.
While rumors had been circulating of a drive-by shooting, Chambers told NewsChannel 21 Saturday night, “We don’t have enough information to say a person was in or out of the vehicle when the shots were fired.”
The shots were “all reported in quick succession” and not over a longer period of time, the sergeant added.
Police asked the public for help in identifying a vehicle seen or heard leaving the area of Umatilla Park around 8:24 p.m. Friday at a high rate of speed. Police Chief Dave Tarbet said Sunday a red car with loud exhaust was last seen turning north onto 27 th Street from Umatilla Avenue.
Anyone with information is urged to call police via Deschutes County dispatch at 541-693-6911 or visit the Redmond Police Department Facebook page to speak to an officer or share information.
If you have any information, you can also contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-TIPS, or use the form on KTVZ.COM’s Crime Stoppers page. You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.
