Marquis Delon Chaney
A 29-year-old man was fatally shot while sitting in the driver's seat of a white sedan in the middle of the afternoon Monday in North Portland.
The white Buick Century jumped the north side curb on North Blandena Street and came to a rest just west of Commercial Avenue.
Police on Monday night confirmed that the man killed was Marquis Delon Chaney. Police and paramedics tried to revive Chaney, but he died of at least one gunshot, said Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Dozens of family members and friends quickly descended on the crime scene, sobbing and wailing, "It can't be!'' and "Not him!''
A witness said she heard two gunshots followed by three rapid gunshots.
Police said they need the public's help to determine what happened.
Reports conflicted about whether one or more suspects walked up to the car and whether they ran away or fled in another car, police said.
Police also are unsure if Chaney was the intended target of the shooting, which was reported at 2:34 p.m.
Homicide detectives, along with gang enforcement officers and county probation officers, responded to investigate and try to calm a crowd that gathered.
"Broad daylight shooting, not far from schools -- obviously very concerning,'' said Simpson, the Police Bureau spokesman. He said police don't know if the shooting was gang-related.
It did mark the 26th time the bureau's gang violence response team has been called out to a shooting or stabbing this year -- more than double that at this time a year ago, gang enforcement officers said.
The victim's older brother, a sister and cousins were among those who gathered at the scene. Homicide detectives later escorted his mother to the scene.
Relatives said Chaney went by the nickname "Odie.''
Chaney, who had lived nearby on Alberta Street, had been cited in January for driving while uninsured and with a suspended license in the same white car, according to court records. He has a 2011 conviction for felon in possession of a firearm.
Johnnie Gage, 19, said he was in Jefferson High School about two blocks north of the shooting scene, when he heard police sirens blaring and getting louder. When he got out of school, he noticed police had taped off North Commercial Avenue, and he found relatives assembling on the street.
Gage, who described himself as Chaney's cousin, said he couldn't fathom what occurred.
"It isn't real,'' he said. "I'm just so used to seeing him around.''
Grant Williams, a nearby resident who sits on the board of the Humboldt Neighborhood Association, and other neighbors came to the scene to find out what had occurred.
"It's disheartening to see the violence continue to manifest in this neighborhood,'' Williams said.
Anyone with information about the homicide, including information learned on social media, should contact investigators on the case: Detective Mark Sponhauer at (503) 823-0416, mark.sponhauer@portlandoregon.gov; or Detective Kristina Coffey at (503) 823-0696, kristina.coffey@portlandoregon.gov.
--Maxine Bernstein
503-221-8212 ; @maxoregonian