Portland police arrested a 17-year-old male last week in connection with a shooting in Bayside.
Police said a 34-year-old man had serious injuries after being shot Aug. 25 on Greenleaf Street, which connects Madison and Oxford streets, near Anderson Street. They said witnesses to the 9:30 p.m. shooting reported seeing several males running from the scene.
In an Aug. 27 press release, police said the 17-year-old was charged with elevated aggravated assault and was detained at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland pending his appearance in the juvenile court.
“Had it not been for the quick response and aid provided by our city’s police officers and emergency medical services, we would be investigating a homicide today,” Chief Frank Clark said in the release. “The department continues to investigate the possibility of any connections involving a number of recent shootings in the city, and I’m asking the public to call or text us with any information. This violence and gunplay must end.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Portland Police Department at 207-874-8575. To provide information anonymously, call 207-874-8584 and leave a message on the department’s Crime Tip Line, or text “PPDME” plus the message to 847411 (TIP411).
Police on Aug. 27 also closed Fox Street near Washington Avenue, where almost a month ago they investigated a report of shots fired.
On Aug. 22, police investigated shots fired in East Deering in the area of Frigate Lane. Although evidence at the scene showed numerous rounds fired in and around the front door of an apartment, no serious injuries were reported. Several witnesses reported seeing a suspect shooting a gun and then running away and leaving in a gold sedan with tinted windows. The suspect was described as a young black male with a thin build and short hair, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Last week’s shooting leaves the Police Department with 12 open shooting investigations in the past year.
Police last week also responded when a man died after being hit by a train on Aug. 25 in the area of 332 St. John St. The victim was not identified and his death, which is considered an accident, is under investigation by both Portland and Amtrak police.
Unrelated to the shooting incidents, police also made an arrest last week in connection to several West End lurking incidents.
Stanford Ellis, 49, was arrested on a charge of operating after suspension after someone reported that Ellis, a transient, had been acting suspiciously. He was arrested on Winter Street and had allegedly been approaching women in the West End and making inappropriate comments.
Recent shootings in Portland
In the last 22 months the Portland Police Department has investigated 12 shootings:
• Oct. 31, 2020: A male shooting into the air at 238 Auburn St.
• Nov. 1, 2020: Two gunshots reported near a fight at 337 Cumberland Ave.
• Jan. 24, 2021: Four to five shots fired at a vehicle, with a suspect in a blue Chevy sedan, at Westbrook and Frost streets.
• May 7, 2021: A 19-year-old male was shot twice in the arm at 150 Wellesley Estates.
• May 9, 2021: Three bullet holes were found in a vehicle at the intersection of Riverside Street and Warren Avenue.
• June 1, 2021: Bullet holes and broken windows were found in a building at 11 Coast Lane.
• June 26, 2021: Bullet holes were found in a tree near Tortilla Flat at Riverside Street and Forest Avenue. Police later made an arrest.
• July 6, 2021: During a fireworks display, shots were fired at Smith and Lancaster streets.
• July 13, 2021: Shots were believed to have been fired from a vehicle on West Kidder Street.
• July 29, 2021: Several gunshots struck the second story of a home on Greenleaf Street.
• Aug. 22, 2021: Shots reportedly fired in the area of Frigate Lane in East Deering.
• Aug. 26, 2021: A 34-year-old man was shot on Greenleaf Street.
— Colin Ellis