Police: 2 separate groups vandalize Portland buildings
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland police say two separate groups of people vandalized dozens of buildings across the city.
The incidents late Friday involved one group of nearly 50 people that vandalized several businesses in the northeast of the city, while another group of people dressed in black and wearing spray-painted helmets gathered in the city’s southwest.
No arrests were made in either group. Police say both groups had mostly dispersed by the time officers arrived.
Windows and glass doors were broken and graffiti littered the front of various businesses. The Mexican consulate was also spray-painted.
Portland Police Bureau news release:
In the evening hours of November 20, 2020, two groups gathered separately in the city with the intent to engage in criminal behavior. The groups vandalized and destroyed private property in both Downtown and Northeast Portland.
Around 8:45 p.m., a group of nearly 30 people gathered in the South Park blocks before walking to the Mexican Consulate located in the 1300 block of Southwest 12th Avenue. Those in the group were dressed in all black and seen wearing helmets and carrying umbrellas. As the group arrived at the Mexican Consulate, they vandalized the building by spray painting it. After the group spray painted the Mexican Consulate, they headed toward the new Multnomah County Courthouse located in the 1200 block of Southwest 1st Avenue where they began to apply graffiti to the building.
Officers responded to the scene and were able to interrupt the vandalism. Units remained at the location as high visibility. Because of the high visibility, the group dispersed from the area without creating anymore damage. No arrests were made.
At around 9:15 p.m., a group of nearly 100 gathered in Northeast Portland around Northeast Halsey Street and Northeast 52nd Avenue. The group was described as wearing all black, with masks and helmets on. A 911 call came in when the group began destroying a bank located in the 4300 block of Northeast Sandy Boulevard. A cleaning crew who was inside the bank was scared as the group began to break windows to the property. Another call came in from workers inside a grocery store located in the 4300 block of Northeast Sandy Boulevard. The workers reported members of the group were shattering windows and spray painting the building.
Officers arrived in the area and observed several businesses with shattered windows and spray paint covering buildings. One business in particular appeared to have been destroyed when members of the group threw a motorized scooter through the glass windows. As officers arrived on scene, the group had dispersed on their own and no arrests were made.
At least 27 businesses were reported vandalized on Northeast Sandy Boulevard.
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