Shortly before midnight on April 28, 2023, gunfire at Northwest 17th Avenue and Northwest Irving Street in Portland left two people shot. Officers arriving around 11:23 p.m. found 55-year-old James R. Rodgers Jr. with life-threatening injuries. Responding officers began trauma first aid and CPR; paramedics continued efforts but Rodgers was pronounced dead at the scene. A female victim also suffered gunshot wounds, was taken to hospital and later released.

The Medical Examiner ruled Rodgers’ death a homicide from a gunshot wound. Rodgers, a Black man who had lived in Portland for 41 years, was the oldest of five siblings and a father to a daughter named Whitney; family described him as an excellent writer and artist. The shooter or shooters fled before police arrived and no arrests have been announced. Anybody with information is urged to contact Portland Police Homicide Unit.