Dramatic footage showed a gunfight erupt in downtown Portland after Antifa demonstrators returned fire at a man who shot at them with a handgun.
That unidentified man was filmed standing behind a trash can before firing a single shot from a handgun on Sunday. Moments later unseen Antifa protesters returned fire, The Guardian reported.
The violent scene erupted at the same time as the Oregon city was playing host to a Summer of Love conservative event said to have been attended by far-right groups including the Proud Boys.
That event – held in the parking lot of an abandoned suburban K-Mart- turned violent after 30 far-left Antifa members clad in dark ‘black bloc’ attire walked past the K-Mart, prompting the Proud Boys to give chase.
A neighboring gas station and convenience store were then hit by explosions and airsoft projectiles.
The scuffle briefly came to a halt before medics on both sides treated the wounded, before Antifa protesters retreated, prompting Proud Boys members to chant ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’
Two vehicles were overturned by attendees of the Summer of Love event – with one sprayed with the letters FAFO, which stands for the Proud Boys’ slogan: ‘F**k around and find out.’
Protesters fired paintballs and air guns, sprayed chemicals and one man fired a handgun as Portland was hit by dueling Antifa and conservative demonstrations.
The man filmed shooting from behind the trashcan was later arrested, but it wasn’t clear if he was tied to the clashes, police told Fox News.
Dramatic footage showed him stood behind a trash can and firing off at least one shot, with other shots fired by another unseen shooter following in quick succession.
The day’s disturbances fell on the anniversary of last year’s clashes between Trump supporters and counter-protesters that included baseball bats and firearms, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Some of Sunday’s violence took place in downtown Portland, where people took cover behind cars as gunshots were heard in the background
Police arrest a man who exchanged fire with two men. It’s unclear if he was part of the protests
This photo shows damage to a car struck during the exchange of gunfire in downtown Portland
Proud Boys and anti-fascist protesters spray bear mace at each other in Portland on Sunday at a separate skirmish
The clashes escalated throughout the day, police say, in response to a planned right-wing rally
The scenes mirrored the most chaotic days of Portland’s Black Lives Matter protests in 2020
In a video tweeted at 5.47pm PDT, a man ducks behind a trash can in front of a pizza place in downtown Portland as he fires a weapon and avoids incoming rounds.
Another video shows police closing in on a man and ordering him to get on the ground, though it’s not clear if it’s the same person.
Left-wing activist Dustin Brandon Ferreira, 37, told the Oregonian that he was with other activists when a man used a slur against a black man in the group and fired multiple rounds in their direction.
Portland police said the man was arrested but declined to release his name.
The violence began when several hundred people were gathered at a waterfront park in downtown Portland by 2.30 pm, according to police.
Some were there to protest an expected gathering of right-wing agitators.
The right-wing ‘Summer of Love: Patriots Spreading Love not Hate’ rally was scheduled to start at the waterfront, according to KPTV.
A large chunk of Sunday’s incidents took place in the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart
Fireworks, paint balls and smoke bombs were a common scene in Sunday’s clashes
Above, members of the far-right Proud Boys attack a counter-protester inside a vehicle
Portland has been the site of some of the most violent, longest protests following the murder of George Floyd. Some of them turned into riots, with images of the city on fire going viral
The planned protests prompted Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell and other city leaders to hold a virtual ‘Choose Love’ event ahead of the demonstrations.
‘Anyone who comes into our community and is spreading their hate, their racism, their xenophobia, their white supremacist predilections, all of that is very intimidating to people who are here, particularly people of color,’ Wheeler said.
The Summer of Love event was moved to the parking lot of an abandoned K-Mart at Northeast 122nd Avenue and Sandy Boulevard.
Sunday’s protests coincided with the anniversary of another right-left skirmish last year
Inflatable unicorns hold signs saying ‘No Love 4 Nazis’ at an Antifa rally in Portland Sunday
Counter-protesters block a downtown street amid dueling demonstrations in Portland
A street preacher with the Proud Boys gets help after being pepper-sprayed by Antifa
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, above in August 2020, held a virtual ‘Choose Love’ event ahead of planned demonstrations. He called out groups with ‘white supremacist predilections’
There, a reporter with KPTV saw paint balls, smoke bombs and a van that was driven in by counter-protesters.
After the van parked, people got out and started running away as Proud Boys attacked them.
‘I saw this dude beating a woman. There was like two ladies that got hit. It was a nightmare, it was f***** terrifying,’ a witness told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
The van was later tipped over.
A man raised a banner reading, ‘Only Jesus saves from hell.’
By 4pm, ‘a small number of people’ in northeast Portland committed ‘acts of violence and destruction,’ according to police.
Police ordered everyone to avoid the area near Northeast 122nd Avenue and Sandy Boulevard – where the abandoned K-Mart parking lot is – in a tweet sent around that time.
‘Arrests are possible, now and in the future. Please leave the area & be peaceful. Drivers please avoid the area,’ police said.
Most people had left the area by 7.30, police said, and they’re now looking for information from victims and witnesses.
A man holds an American flag at an abandoned K-Mart parking lot in northeastern Portland
A right-wing Summer of Love rally was moved from the downtown waterfront to the parking lot
A young man hits a van with an American flag after far-right protesters claimed the van tried to ram into them
Portland police say there were no arrests Sunday, but that, ‘arrests do not always happen in the moment,’ and that they’re, ‘conducting follow-up investigations, gathering evidence’
‘While it’s disappointing that some people chose to engage violently, I am grateful for those who exercised their rights peacefully and without committing crimes,’ said Chief Lovell in a statement Sunday night.
‘I also thank the Portland Police personnel who came in to work today on their day off, and those who were responding to calls for service citywide.’
In a video tweeted at 4.48pm, a flag burned on a downtown street as people chanted, ‘Stolen people on stolen land,’ and, ‘Black lives matter.’
Proud Boy Tusitala ‘Tiny’ Toese, who has been convicted of inciting violence at protests, spoke to the press in Portland during Sunday’s violent clashes
Members of the Proud Boys hold shields as they prepare for clashes with Antifa protesters
A counter-protester gets help after being hit in the face with a paintball by the Proud Boys
Portland descended into chaos last year after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked massive Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country.
In Portland, 100 days of protests ended in 675 arrests and 30 official riots, according to a tally published by The Oregonian in September 2020.
Last August, self-described Antifa supporter Michael Reinoehl was killed by police while they tried to apprehend him for shooting and killing Trump supporter Aaron Danielson, according to the Washington Post.
Danielson was part of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer. He had driven through the streets with Trump banners during Floyd protests.
Source: dailymail
