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News Release

Portland’s Progress Against Gun Violence Shows We Must Stay The Course (Photo) - 06/09/26

PORTLAND, Ore.— For years, gun violence cast a terrifying shadow over Portland. Headlines chronicled rising homicides, neighborhoods endured repeated shootings, and residents questioned whether the city could regain a sense of safety.

 

Today, Portland is moving in a more hopeful direction. Yet, the recent decline in homicides and shootings should not be mistaken for a solved problem. Instead, it offers an important lesson: achieving a sustained reduction in gun violence requires persistence, accountability for gun offenders, and long-term community investment.

 

Recent data shows encouraging progress. Shootings resulting in homicides have fallen dramatically, from 30 year-to-date in 2022 to 9 in 2026. Shootings that did not result in a homicide have also declined significantly, from 453 year-to-date in 2022 to 171 in 2026. These reductions rank among the largest seen in major U.S. cities over the past several years. Still, Portland has not yet returned to the lower levels of gun violence experienced in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, shootings are up over the past month as the city enters the summer months, when gun violence has historically increased.

 

This issue is about the sanctity of life. As every victim and victim’s family will tell you, these numbers represent far more than statistics—they are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and beloved friends and members of our community. Last month, a member of my family, innocently at a Portland park with a small child, was shot multiple times by a violent repeat gun offender—a personal and painful reminder that there is much more work to do.

 

Every prevented shooting is a family spared unimaginable grief. Every life saved strengthens a neighborhood and restores confidence that meaningful public safety improvements are possible. Portlanders have a right to be safe, and our policymakers have a duty to ensure they are.

 

This progress did not happen by accident. Credit belongs to the brave men and women of the Portland Police Bureau and its Focused Intervention Team (FIT). I recently witnessed FIT's work firsthand as its officers responded to an active gang conflict and worked to remove illegal firearms from Portland streets. Credit also belongs to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, which has adopted a more assertive strategy for investigating and prosecuting gun violence. Equally important are the expanded efforts combining law enforcement with community-based intervention programs aimed at preventing violence before it occurs. My office also plays a critical role, working with local, state, and federal partners to target the most violent repeat gun offenders in the county.

 

Maintaining this momentum will require continued investment and commitment to prioritize public safety funding. In a recent federal RICO trial against Hoover gang leaders, a gang member testified that the mere presence of police officers deters shootings. We need more police officers. We need more prosecutors. And, we need effective community-based intervention programs.

 

Policymakers must ensure that the police bureau, the district attorney’s office, and prevention initiatives have the resources necessary to do their jobs effectively and hold offenders accountable. Asking these institutions to do more with fewer police officers, prosecutors, and resources risks repeating mistakes of the recent past that contributed to rising homicides and shootings and left Portland neighborhoods and families to bear the consequences.

 

Communities are safest when accountability and prevention work together. Portlanders deserve effective policing, vigorous prosecution of violent offenders, and strong services. They deserve immediate protection and long-term solutions.

 

Portland is at a critical juncture. The city's story of gun violence can be a story of recovery, but only if our policymakers stay the course. Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioners are currently formulating budgets that will determine whether this progress continues or stalls. The police bureau, the district attorney's office, and community intervention programs all require sustained investment. Defund any one of them and the gains reverse.

 

Policymakers must ensure these institutions have the staffing and resources necessary to do their jobs — not for the sake of better statistics, but for the Portlanders behind them.

 

The next several weeks are a test. Summer historically drives up gun violence, and the outcome of local budget negotiations could spell the difference between a good summer, and one that brings increased violence and loss of life in Portland neighborhoods.

 

Portlanders, please urge your council members and commissioners to appropriately fund Portland’s recovery.

 

Statement from Scott E. Bradford, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.

 

# # #

Attached Media Files: PDF Release,

Portland’s Progress Against Gun Violence Shows We Must Stay The Course (Photo) - 06/09/26

PORTLAND, Ore.— For years, gun violence cast a terrifying shadow over Portland. Headlines chronicled rising homicides, neighborhoods endured repeated shootings, and residents questioned whether the city could regain a sense of safety.

 

Today, Portland is moving in a more hopeful direction. Yet, the recent decline in homicides and shootings should not be mistaken for a solved problem. Instead, it offers an important lesson: achieving a sustained reduction in gun violence requires persistence, accountability for gun offenders, and long-term community investment.

 

Recent data shows encouraging progress. Shootings resulting in homicides have fallen dramatically, from 30 year-to-date in 2022 to 9 in 2026. Shootings that did not result in a homicide have also declined significantly, from 453 year-to-date in 2022 to 171 in 2026. These reductions rank among the largest seen in major U.S. cities over the past several years. Still, Portland has not yet returned to the lower levels of gun violence experienced in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, shootings are up over the past month as the city enters the summer months, when gun violence has historically increased.

 

This issue is about the sanctity of life. As every victim and victim’s family will tell you, these numbers represent far more than statistics—they are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and beloved friends and members of our community. Last month, a member of my family, innocently at a Portland park with a small child, was shot multiple times by a violent repeat gun offender—a personal and painful reminder that there is much more work to do.

 

Every prevented shooting is a family spared unimaginable grief. Every life saved strengthens a neighborhood and restores confidence that meaningful public safety improvements are possible. Portlanders have a right to be safe, and our policymakers have a duty to ensure they are.

 

This progress did not happen by accident. Credit belongs to the brave men and women of the Portland Police Bureau and its Focused Intervention Team (FIT). I recently witnessed FIT's work firsthand as its officers responded to an active gang conflict and worked to remove illegal firearms from Portland streets. Credit also belongs to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, which has adopted a more assertive strategy for investigating and prosecuting gun violence. Equally important are the expanded efforts combining law enforcement with community-based intervention programs aimed at preventing violence before it occurs. My office also plays a critical role, working with local, state, and federal partners to target the most violent repeat gun offenders in the county.

 

Maintaining this momentum will require continued investment and commitment to prioritize public safety funding. In a recent federal RICO trial against Hoover gang leaders, a gang member testified that the mere presence of police officers deters shootings. We need more police officers. We need more prosecutors. And, we need effective community-based intervention programs.

 

Policymakers must ensure that the police bureau, the district attorney’s office, and prevention initiatives have the resources necessary to do their jobs effectively and hold offenders accountable. Asking these institutions to do more with fewer police officers, prosecutors, and resources risks repeating mistakes of the recent past that contributed to rising homicides and shootings and left Portland neighborhoods and families to bear the consequences.

 

Communities are safest when accountability and prevention work together. Portlanders deserve effective policing, vigorous prosecution of violent offenders, and strong services. They deserve immediate protection and long-term solutions.

 

Portland is at a critical juncture. The city's story of gun violence can be a story of recovery, but only if our policymakers stay the course. Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioners are currently formulating budgets that will determine whether this progress continues or stalls. The police bureau, the district attorney's office, and community intervention programs all require sustained investment. Defund any one of them and the gains reverse.

 

Policymakers must ensure these institutions have the staffing and resources necessary to do their jobs — not for the sake of better statistics, but for the Portlanders behind them.

 

The next several weeks are a test. Summer historically drives up gun violence, and the outcome of local budget negotiations could spell the difference between a good summer, and one that brings increased violence and loss of life in Portland neighborhoods.

 

Portlanders, please urge your council members and commissioners to appropriately fund Portland’s recovery.

 

Statement from Scott E. Bradford, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.

 

# # #

Attached Media Files: PDF Release,