November 25, 2024
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that Thursday, November 21, a Multnomah County jury found Laura Marie Patterson, 48, guilty of crimes stemming from a November 2023 incident wherein she fired shots into the ceiling of the terminal of the Portland International Airport (PDX).
Case Facts
On November 14, 2023, Port of Portland Police responded to a report of gunshots at the D/E checkpoint of PDX. Witnesses to the incident reported that a woman, identified as Laura Patterson, fired two rounds into the ceiling of the D/E checkpoint with a handgun before placing the gun on the ground and awaiting arrest. At the scene, officers located Patterson who immediately admitted firing the shots and taking her into custody. Patterson told officers and detectives she shot at the lights/ceiling. One bullet struck a glass window of the ceiling causing $7,900 worth of damage and that area was under active construction and repair work that night.
In interviews with law enforcement, Patterson told detectives that she felt compelled to drive from her residence in Kennewick, Washington and come to PDX. Patterson told detectives that she fired her gun off so someone would stop her from killing family members who live out of state. Patterson denied she intended to fly out from PDX. Patterson told detectives about the routes of travel, means, and methods she would have taken to travel to kill her family members. Review of surveillance showed Patterson arrive and sit for hours in front of the ticket counters nearby the checkpoint before proceeding into the checkpoint area and shooting. Further investigation revealed Patterson was in possession of multiple changes of clothes, camping gear, cold weather gear, 100 additional rounds of ammunition for the firearm, her passport, multiple expired driver's licenses from different states belonging to Patterson, and several sets of license plates from different states registered to Patterson.
Trial & Verdict
Deputy District Attorney Anthony Dundon and Deputy District Attorney Noah Berg represented the state at trial, which took place from November 18 through November 21, 2024 in front of Judge Benjamin Souede. A jury rendered its verdict on Thursday, November 21, finding Patterson guilty of the following crimes:
Patterson remains in custody pending sentencing, which has been scheduled for December 19, 2024.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the efforts of all who contributed to the resolution of this case and our appreciation for the work of the Port of Portland Police including Det. Catherine Hartless, Det. Kit Lommen, Capt. Jeremy Hepp, Ofc. Grant Thommen, Ofc. Jack Dunteman, and Sgt. Peter Brenner, as well as MCDA victim advocate Alex Bidwell, who supported the victims throughout this process.
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