A triple shooting at a Portland, Oregon, street fair on Thursday evening luckily resulted in no life threatening injuries to the victims — but the aftermath of the violent incident drew comparisons to the satirical TV show Portlandia , as fairgoers seemed to typify popular stereotypes of that Pacific Northwestern city’s upscale hipsters.
The phenomenon was documented by Casey Parks, a reporter for The Oregonian newspaper, who posted a series of tweets in the aftermath of the shooting, which wounded a woman and two teens.
Another youth, 16-year-old Turon Walker, Jr., later confessed to the shooting, according to police . Court documents said that he claimed to open fire into the crowd at the “Last Thursday” street fair event because he thought he saw someone “eyeing” him.
As police investigated the 7 p.m. shooting on Thursday the popular ice cream shop, Salt and Straw, located within the area blocked off by police tape, closed early to allow investigators to complete their work.
Salt and Straw is an artisanal ice cream shop known for such designer flavors as Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, Freckled Woodblock Chocolate, and Arbequina Olive Oil.
“By 9 p.m., a large crowd was still milling around the Alberta commercial strip, blocking traffic and prompting concerns for their safety,” the Oregonian reported. “Police closed the local Salt and Straw ice cream shop, prompting cries of protest from the crowd.”
Parks reported two dozen people begging cops to allow them through the crime scene to get to the exclusive ice cream emporium.
At least 2 dozen ppl have come up and asked the police to let them go to Salt and Straw
— Casey Parks (@caseyparks) May 29, 2015
I’ll save you the trouble: Salt and Straw has closed for the night — Casey Parks (@caseyparks) May 29, 2015
The victims in the shooting were a pair of 15-year-old boys and a 25-year-old woman. They were transported to a nearby hospital where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Walker’s father questioned the validity of his son’s alleged confession, saying that the first he heard of Turon, Jr.’s arrest was when a detective called to tell him that cops had taken the boy’s confession.
“From a kid?” the dad said after his son’s court appearance Friday.
While revelers complained about the closure of the Salt and Straw ice cream store Thursday, others snapped selfies in front of the crime scene.
Now people are taking selfies withe the police tape pic.twitter.com/sIqeFe3ki4
— Casey Parks (@caseyparks) May 29, 2015
The selfie incident was reminiscent of a similar case in New York City in March in which a group of women were seen snapping smiling selfies in front of a collapsed building that was the site of a gas explosion that killed two people, unlike in Portland, Oregon, where no lives were lost.
[Image: Casey Parks Twitter Feed]
