61-year-old man dies in early morning Gresham shooting

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - A 61-year-old man died in a shooting in Gresham early Saturday morning, police said.

The Gresham Police Department said just before 4 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to the 200 block of Southeast 188th Avenue. When they arrived, they found a man on the ground shot. He later died.

Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, police identified the victim as James Edward Wilson of Gresham.

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People who live and work near the area say there was a large police presence all morning. And, many said they weren’t surprised to hear about yet another deadly shooting.

“Crazy world,” said Sean Bishop, who works nearby. “Crime scene tape all around it, dead body, cops all over.”

A neighbor described the scene.

“Some guy was parked in his car at 7-11 and they shot him twice,” the neighbor said. “And then he ran to the apartments across the street and that’s when they shot him again.” People said it’s devastating to hear about another life lost in their neighborhood.

“My condolences to who lost their life,” said Julian Outlaw, who also lives nearby.

People said Wilson was a familiar face in their part of town.

“I mean, it’s supposed to feel safe in your home and you really don’t,” the neighbor said. “It’s sad because I know who he is, he was actually a pretty nice guy.”

Residents said similar incidents have been happening too often in the area.

“It’s sad. The gun violence. I had two people that I know that were shot in this parking lot within the last two years,” the neighbor said.

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Community members say they’re tired of the violence and want to see change.

“I really hope it stops. I want people to be safe. If you don’t have to be out after hours, please don’t do that,” Outlaw said. “I hope that the efforts a lot of these organizations out here have been making change around this degradation, violence.”

“A soul is a soul, it’s sad,” the neighbor said.

Police did not say if anyone is in custody, but investigators are asking anyone with information to call the Gresham Police Tip Line at 503-618-2719.

This is developing news. FOX 12 will update this story when more information is available.

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