Bullets from a Wednesday night shooting near Portland’s Kennedy Park struck a room where an infant slept.
This was the 54th shooting seen in Maine’s largest city since the beginning of the year. Those shootings left 12 people wounded, including three who later died, according to Portland police Chief Heath Gorham.
The shooting happened about 10 p.m. near Kennedy Park. When officers arrived at the scene, they found bullets had gone through the windows and walls of a building near the park, Portland police Maj. Robert Martin said Thursday.
An occupant inside the building said there was a knock at their door, and when they opened it, they saw a black man wearing a white T-shirt and leather jacket standing with a rifle outside, according to Martin.
The man, whose identity hasn’t been released, then allegedly raised the rifle and fired multiple bullets at the home before fleeing in a gray or silver sedan, where another Black man wearing a red jacket with fur-lined hood was waiting.
The bullets went into multiple bedrooms, including a room where a 1-year-old child was sleeping in a crib. No one was reported injured in the shooting.
“This is the third incident where shots were fired into homes occupied by innocent children. We continue to say how fortunate we are that a child wasn’t struck by one of these bullets and are thankful that nobody was hurt, but this cannot be our answer,” Gorham said Thursday, adding that it’s time “to stop these senseless acts of violence.”
Wednesday’s shooting follows the shooting of a patron outside Rick’s Cabaret on Riverside Street on Dec. 11. That shooting left a man with injuries not considered life-threatening. It also comes after the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Tyler Flexon near Sherman and Mellen streets on Nov. 29. Tristin Chamberlain, 21, of Portland turned himself into police on Dec. 11 and faces a murder charge in Flexon’s death.
Anyone with information about the Kennedy Park shooting can call the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8575.