In the early hours of May 4, 2022, officers were sent to an apartment in the 2800 block of Southeast Division Street in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood after a reported shooting. At about 1:34 a.m. they found 30-year-old Morgan M. Kahoaokekai Max, a male, deceased inside the residence. An autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the death was a homicide from a gunshot wound. Family members released a photograph and requested privacy.

Detectives say the suspect or suspects fled before police arrived and a portion of Southeast Division Street was closed while investigators processed the scene. Follow-up work led to the arrest of 33-year-old Nathaniel C. Freeman on May 10, 2022; he was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center and charged with Murder in the Second Degree with a Firearm, Unlawful Use of a Weapon with a Firearm, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The public has not been given details about what led investigators to Freeman.

Anyone with information about Morgan Max or the shooting is asked to come forward.